Room For Two
by Wilde-Productions
Summary: Piper and Alex are stuck together in the SHU after the season 1 finale and upon their release a fight for justice and survival awaits them. RATED M for violence, language and sex. PLEASE REVIEW!
1. Are You Fucking Kidding Me?

**Chapter 1:**

**"Are You Fucking Kidding Me?"**

Blood.

There was lots of it. Piper ran away from the scene as fast as she could, unsure of the fate of the woman she had just hit.

She entered the chapel quietly, hiding her bleeding hand under her coat. Luckily no one saw her because they were all starring at the uplifting spectacular dance choreography Taystee was doing with the other girls. She exited and quickly made her way to the dorm's bathroom.

More blood dipped into the sink. She needed a bandage and maybe even stitches, but she couldn't risk going to the infirmary. They would send her to psych immediately and that would just make her the prime suspect.

She went into a stall and got some toilet paper to put on her wound, but it would just get soak instantly. Her mind and her sanity slowly gave up on her. She dropped the paper and sat on the fungus-infected floor, not caring that she was bleeding out on herself and on the floor. She closed her eyes, let the tears stream on her face and easily drifted off of consciousness.

Her lids fluttered slowly a few minutes later. A woman was helping on her feet, and it was too blurry to see the details of her features, but the body in which she landed felt too familiar. Alex.

"Piper, Piper shit wake up you're bleeding," Alex said, giving gentle slaps on the blonde's face. She got her out of the stall and sat her the counter between two sinks. "You need to go to the infirmary, I'll go get an officer."

"Alex, no. Don't," Piper blurted out quickly, half conscious.

"You're bleeding, Piper. Get over your shits already." Alex snapped, making her way out the bathroom.

"I killed her," she murmured just loud enough so that Alex could hear her.

Alex walked back to her, eyes wide opened. "What?"

It took a little while before Piper responded, then she looked straight in Alex eyes and said, "I killed Tiffany"

"What do you mean you killed her, when? What the fuck did you do Piper?" Alex asked.

Piper looked down. Even if things were shitty between her and Alex, she felt incredibly ashamed to tell her what she'd done. Alex wasn't a saint and she had done bad things, but killing was a whole other deal and she wasn't sure she couldn't bear what Alex would think of her after that.

"Piper…" she said more softly this time.

"She attacked me. She wanted to kill me in the name of god." She began. Her hand was hurting more than ever now and she fought to stay conscious. "She told me I wasn't worthy of nobody loves. Larry had just left me and you were mad at me. I lost it. I started punching her and she … oh god." Piper passed out again before she could finish.

"Piper!" Alex shook her but this time she was not responding. "Shit".

The dark haired woman took Piper in her arms, carried her to the nearest shower and put her down, closing the curtain behind. She ran as fast as she could out of the bathroom and through the halls she was happy that no guard was there to tell her to walk. She stepped in the dorm and found Nikki in her bunk.

"Where's the fire Vause? Miss my talented hand on your pussy already?" She joked in her typical fashion.

"I need your help it's serious, go in the bathroom and wait for me, I'll be there in a sec. Don't ask just go and don't let anyone comes in the bathroom."

Nikki simply nodded, stood up and made her way out of the dorms.

Alex fumbled in one of the inmates' drawer she knew had a sewing kit. She shoved it in her pants as well a few maxi pads that lay on top. She ran back to bathroom.

"Are you gonna tell me what's happening?" Nikki asked.

Alex didn't answer. She put the stuff on the counter and then opened the shower curtain to reveal the blonde lying in a pool of blood.

"Holy shit!" was all that came out of Nikki.

"Help me get her on the counter." Alex ordered. They lifted her on the counter. "Her hand is cut. She needs stitches," the brunette said as she got out a needle and thread. She grabbed the maxi pads and tossed them at Nikki. "Make a bandage. I don't care how be creative."

Alex proceeded to close the opened wound. Luckily the blonde couldn't feel anything and Alex was thankful that her mom had taught her to sew when she was younger. The stitches looked pretty nasty, but it had stopped the blood from flowing nonetheless. Nikki gave her the patch she'd made and they duck taped it on her hand.

"Dude this is some serious shit. What happened?"

Alex knew this wasn't her story to tell. She trusted Nikki with almost anything, but this was Piper. She couldn't risk telling her then finding out she told other people. She hated herself for carrying so much about her and sighed. Nikki was still looking at her, waiting for an answer but she chose to ignore her. "I need to clean this blood, would you be okay to bring her back to her bunk?" Alex asked calmly.

"She's like twice my height. No way I can carry her there. Why don't I clean up the mess and you take care of your girl." Nikki suggested.

"She's not my girl." Alex said firmly. Nikki put her hands in the air innocently and started cleaning the blood. Alex felt grateful to have a friend that was willing to clean up her idiot of ex-girlfriend's blood without explication and she reminded herself to thank her properly later.

Alex had found harder to carry Piper to her bunk—mainly because she was exhausted from the stress of the previous hour. Piper still hadn't woken up and she sat on the floor next to her bed with The Catcher in the Rye, waiting for the blonde to wake up. Then there was this turmoil in her head. She worried about Piper and she was fucking mad at Piper. Her brain wasn't sure how to process that, but as always caring for Piper was inevitable.

As she carried on with the reading of her book, she found a passage that was very appropriate at that moment. She read it softly, "_That's the thing about girls. Every time they do something pretty, even if they're not much to look at, or even if they're sort of stupid, you fall in love with them, and then you never know where the hell you are. Girls. Jesus Christ. They can drive you crazy. They really can." _J.D Salinger was right; Piper had driven her crazy. She turned to the blonde and added, "And yet I don't know how to live without you, Kid."

Piper finally woke up 30 minutes later. Alex had stayed with her to make sure she was okay, but she hadn't really thought through what she was going to say once she woke up.

"Alex?" Piper looked at the girl on the floor. "What happened?" she asked, bracing herself up on her elbows.

"You passed out. We fetched you up with stitches. Brought you back." Alex answered frigidly as she closed her book and stood up.

"You stayed with me?" Her tone was wishful and maybe even a little bit surprised. After all she knew she had broke her heart, and knowing Alex she wasn't one to forgive so easily.

And as she expected, Alex hadn't forgiven her. "And now I'm leaving. Have a nice life." The brunette said as she turned on her feet as she pulled up her glasses on her head, determine to get away as fast as possible before Piper could say anything else.

Then there was the alarm that stopped her before she could even leave the room.

"Fuck" she thought as she lied down on the floor with the rest of the inmates in the room.

"Attention all inmates." A voice announced. "An attack took place tonight inside the gates of Litchfield, leaving the fate of a fellow prisoner uncertain. Until we find out who's responsible, some extreme measures will be taken upon some of you. You are to stay put until our C.O are done escorting the suspects".

A group of officer entered the room. Alex noticed a guard walking toward Piper and bringing her out as well as a few other girls. They fussed and asked what the fuck they'd done. She knew they had a reason to complain because they were all innocent. The girls were frisked and taken away for no reason and she hated Piper even more for being so selfish.

Then hate became such a weak word to describe her feelings toward Piper when she saw the rookie C.O, Fischer, walking toward her with an apologetic look on her face.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me," Alex said and like the other before, she was frisk and taken away. Regardless of the circumstances she was glad that it was Fischer out of everybody. Less thing she needed right now were dirty men hands feeling her out. The frisk had been brief and respectful.

She was brought down to the SHU along with the other prisoners. This was the first time so many people were brought down there at the same time. There were eight rooms available and they were fifteen so they were two per room. Alex prayed to be the one alone her room— the last thing she wanted was to be stuck with someone who would drive her even more crazy then this place. The ones who had been brought down there were just very unlucky and had been at the wrong place and at the wrong time. She felt sorry for them.

The C.O walked her to her box and unlock the metal door. Just before opening it she said with a smile "I chose the room carefully for you Miss Vause." She winked at her, opened the door then pulled her gently inside and closed it behind her.

Who was the girl sitting on the bed in front of her?

Piper. Fucking. Chapman.

* * *

A/N: I apologize for the mistakes, English is not my first language and I have no beta. :/ This story will be longer if I get enough reviews telling me you are interested for me to continue it, so please tell me what you think! Hope you enjoyed :). -SRW


	2. Memories

**Chapter 2**

"**Memories"**

"Again. You gotta be fucking kidding me." Alex said angrily. She turned and knocked hard on the door and yelled, "I don't want to be with her! Take me to another room! Hell take me to psych, just get me the hell out of here!"

No answer. She continued to knock, but it quickly switched to punching as she received no attention. Fischer wasn't coming back. Apparently she hadn't gotten the memo that Piper and her weren't together anymore and had thought well, but it was Alex worst nightmare.

"Alex," Piper warned her. "You are gonna hurt yourself, please stop."

Alex faced her. "You mean hurt myself more than you hurt me?" she snapped.

"Alex…" Piper said, but she had no idea what to say. She knew that 'I'm sorry' would not be enough and nor would be anything really.

"Fuck you," Alex said before sitting down the floor. She closed her eyes and leaned the back of her head on the cold wall.

Piper sighed and lied down on the bunk facing the wall. It must have been the middle of the night after all this. Both of them were very tired and yet neither could sleep. Piper's hand hurt so much she wanted to cry and the bright light bothered Alex so much it gave her a headache.

Around three hours later that they had finally managed to get some sleep, they were woken up by the sound of a screeching metal tray sliding on the ground inside their cell. A brownish, almost red loaf of some unidentified meat lay in the middle of it. Alex, who was closer to the door, put her hand on the tray and simply pushed it toward Piper without even touching the food.

"You're not eating?" Piper asked, looking at Alex who stared blankly at the wall. She nodded as she realized she wasn't getting any answer. She examined the loaf and noticed, as she looked closer small, greenish dots that was mold beginning to form. She did her best to remove them, pinching them out and throwing them in the tray. It was her second time down in the SHU, the first time because she had suggestively danced with Alex – a moment which she had truly appreciated. Even after eating that meat loaf everyday during her last time there, she really hadn't gotten used to it. Nobody could ever for that matter. "You know I read before coming here that those kind of loaf are actually very nutritional and healthy. Well, without the mold that is." Piper said, even if she knew Alex wasn't going to say anything back. Talking when knowing someone actually listened helped her keep her sanity, even if it was a one-way conversation.

Piper ate half of the food, keeping the rest of it in case Alex would decide to eat some. Anyways, the half was all that she could bare eating without puking. She put the tray on the floor between them. She moved on her bunk so that she could lean against the wall, wrapping her arms around her knees and trying desperately not to think about the pain from her wound. She wondered if Alex was the one who had fixed her hand with the stitches and the bandage because it was done quite perfectly-for prison and someone who isn't a doctor that is. She found some comfort and hope thinking that it was. Romantic relationship or not, Piper was determined to get back on friendly grounds with Alex. The first reason to that was that they were going to be in Litchfield together for a year still and also she felt the need to leave with a peaceful mind and no regrets once her sentence was going to end. Both reasons were completely narcissistic reasons if you'd ask anyone who knew her, but Piper didn't think of it that way.

A few minutes later, Piper broke the everlasting silence and said, "I need to pee". She stood and looked at Alex awkwardly. It was not like it was the first time she'd ever peed in front of Alex so she wasn't sure why she was making a deal of it, but considering the circumstances she felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Sure go ahead, I'll wait outside. Oh wait. We're stuck here, thanks to you." Alex scolded sarcastically and rolled her eyes. She shoved her face in the folded arms on her knees.

Piper decided to ignore her. She peed, and then thought it was time to start and make a mend with Alex.

"Okay listen to me Alex," Piper started. She stood in front of her and the fact that the dark-haired woman was sitting on the floor and that she could look down at her made her feel in power to continue this argument. "I'm a coward, alright. You want to know why I picked Larry? Because I'm scared. I love you so fucking much that it scares me. I love you so fucking much that I'd carry another suitcase of drug money for you. I love you so fucking much that I'd spend another decade in here if that means I could stay with you. And I don't want any of that. So I picked him."

Alex looked at her. "You are so fucking selfish Piper. I can't believe this." She said and stood up. "Hasn't really never occurred to you that I'm an actual person with feelings and Larry too? You ripped my heart out. Twice." She looked at Piper, not with anger anymore, but with deep pain and sadness. She fought hard to keep the tears from falling and the big lump in her throat made it difficult for her to continue. "You had a choice to make. You made your decision based on only you, like you are the only one in the relationship. You never cared about my feelings. You never cared that being with Larry because it's easier wasn't fair to him. And now you lost both of us."

Piper was crying and for the first time she felt ashamed. She didn't have a right to cry. She wasn't being hurt by anyone. Hell, she had two incredible persons that loved her. Suddenly it was all clear in her head—she had been the problem all along.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." She repeated over and over. It was pointless- words didn't work anymore.

"And even sadder is that you still think I'm the bad guy. That I'd use your love selfishly for illegal shits even if I told you the only plan I had ever made in my life was never to get back to that."

"I'm so stupid Alex," Piper couldn't get herself to stop crying. "What do I have to do for you to forgive me? Please tell me."

Alex sighed. "I don't know anymore." She really wanted to be able to forgive her and make the tears go away, but she couldn't trust her. The fact that she was incredibly lonely didn't help the matter. She craved for physical comfort. Not just sex. It was never just sex with Piper- they always connected emotionally too. Although she hooked up with a lot of girls after Piper left her, she never felt that with anyone else. She felt stupid to romanticize Piper like that in her mind because she was so toxic.

"We should probably stop arguing because I have a feeling we are going to be here for a while and I have a fucking migraine." Alex said. She walked to the small sink and splashed some water on her face. It was lukewarm and smelled like cooper. She took a piece of brown paper and dried her skin and then gave a piece to Piper to so that she could wipe off her tears.

Piper took it and gave her a weak smile. They threw the papers in the toilet and flushed it. The motion made the blonde's hand burn and she winced. Alex noticed.

"You want me to take a look at it?" Alex asked, not really sure why she did thought. Piper nodded. They sat on the bunk bed and Alex held Piper's arms with her long fingers and with the others she delicately peeled the maxi pad that covered the wound. The touch made Piper shiver and her stomach fluttered the same way it did 10 years ago when she first got the tall woman's attention. Alex examined the cut. "No infections, you're good." She covered the wound and too soon the blonde missed the warm touch.

"Thank you." Piper smiled and asked, "You did the stitches?"

"Yeah I tried"

"You did a good job. Your mother would be proud of you that you still remember her sewing techniques you know." Piper said carefully. Alex's mother was a touchy subject between them. She immediately regretted mentioning her once she saw the other woman's face.

"Proud of her drug-smuggling loser of a daughter who's in prison," Alex recalled. "Yeah I don't think so."

"Proud of the smoking hot, funny, smart girl who's still standing tall even after all the mistakes she made." Piper corrected.

"Hot and funny hell yeah but I'm not smart," Alex shrugged. "I didn't go to college."

"What? That doesn't matter you are brilliant. You read like a thousand book every week and you have always interesting stories to tell." Piper smiled. "You could be a writer and be the next J.K Rowlings I'm telling ya."

"Harry Potter, really?" Alex chuckled. "Yeah I could totally write stories about Azkaban." She nodded proudly and looked at Piper with a genuine grin on her face. Piper loved everything about that smile – the way her eyes shined brightly, her glasses falling on top of her nose and her cheeks creasing adorably.

Alex was moving her hand to take Piper, but another of food was thrown in the room before they even touched. She looked down at the tray0- it wasn't a loaf but a beige, lumpy mash of something that looked like vomit.

"I guess I gotta eat at some point right?" Alex sighed, took the tray and put it between them. "So what's the trick with that?" she asked.

"Really there is none. Just don't look at it too closely and don't breathe." Piper suggested.

"Wait how are we supposed to eat this without utensils?"

"With our hands, like animals because that's what we are to them." Piper said.

The dark haired woman looked at it and frowned, "Man I don't even want to touch it with my hands how the hell am I gonna eat it."

Piper laughed, "Oh my god do you remember that trip to Istanbul, we had gotten lost and we were so hungry we stopped at that small Vietnamese restaurant and they served us a fish bass with its stomach and everything." Piper reminisced.

Alex was jumping on her seat as she remembered. "And you cut right on his bowel and it splashed fish blood on your fancy white blouse. The whole staff laughed at you and when we walked back to the hotel you complained the whole time. You were about to strip down to your bra in the street."

"But I had blood on me! It looked like I had murdered someone." Her smile vanished. Murdered someone. Like Tiffany, she thought. She still had no idea if she was really alive or not. She felt horrible to prefer it to be the latest.

"This kinda looks like what one of my cats was puking when I came back from that business trip after leaving them two weeks with you. Man you were so bad at taking care of them, poor things." Alex said, changing the subject rapidly by bringing back some other memories.

They spent the rest of the day reminiscing old time and it almost felt like no time had passed and nothing ever happened. When they judged by their tiredness that it was about nighttime they went to sleep. This time Piper had insisted on sleeping on the floor so Alex gave her the top blanket to put on the floor and she slept on the bed. They drifted off to sleep easily this time, their minds full of great memories to dream about.

**A/N: Thank you all for the great reviews, I'm glad you liked it. Keep telling me you think. **


	3. Everything I Can't Have Anymore

**Chapter 3:**

**"Everything I Can't Have Anymore"**

"_And in the end, we were all just humans… drunk on the idea that love, only love, could heal our brokenness." – F. Scott Fitzgerald_

The pair was woken up early and brought to the showers. To their surprise, the guard made them shower at the same time. They guessed it was because so many people were in the SHU at that moment that they needed to save time. The water was painfully cold like it had been taken directly from the frozen river. Alex used the soap first, rubbing it quickly all over the body before passing it to Piper.

The tall woman noticed as she rinsed herself that the guard was starring at Piper's breast and ass. Alex gave him a deadly look and he hid a smile, a bulge forming in his pants. She was angry that Piper's body was so exposed and objectified like that and so she moved in front of her to block his view. She didn't care much that he was now probably starring at her ass—it was better her than Piper she thought.

Piper finished washing herself and looked at Alex to see if she was done too. As she did, a smirk rose on her face when she caught the sight of her perfect breast, water drops sliding slowly on them and her nipples hardened painfully by the water. Her arousal grew and she looked away, more or less hoping that Alex didn't see the smile on her face.

They lingered in the shower a little bit too long—the guard took so much pleasure looking at them. "We're done here," Alex insisted with a firm tone. He gave her an amused look.

They were escorted back to their box and the C.O mentioned to them that someone was going to get them later in the afternoon for an interrogation. Piper feared the worst— Mr. Healy would give her up or Pennsatucky if she was awake. She wondered why Healy hadn't already, but at the same time he would risk his job too. It would be hard to explain how he simply walked away after witnessing the attack.

"Ugh. I hate when I can't dry my hair with a dryer I'm gonna have knots in it and its gonna look messy." Piper said, trying to comb her hair with her fingers.

"What, do you have date today?" Alex joked. She sat on the bunk bed. "Come here." Alex opened her legs and Piper sat between them on the floor. She ran her fingers through the blonde hair and braided it with difficulty. "Okay, just water isn't really the best conditioner out there." Piper shook her head 'no' and Alex finished the braid.

The blonde was still shivering from the cold shower and Alex ran her hands on the other woman's arms. "Jesus Piper you are freezing." She said.

"I know, I'm probably gonna get a cold" Piper sighed.

"Come here," the tall woman said as she lied on the bed. She opened her arms, inviting Piper to snuggle. The blonde didn't need to think twice before she lied on top of her. She was surprised though—she never thought she'd get to be held in those arms again. She wondered if Alex was just bored or if she really craved the contact as much of she did. Maybe a little bit of both.

Piper buried her face in the crook of Alex's neck- the soft and warm skin felt like home and she didn't understand why she had given it all away. It wasn't something she found with Larry—first his body was rough and manly and secondly Alex made her feel like she was loved rather than being a possession or something to protect. She preferred her. The woman under her was slowly caressing her back and it made her shiver again, but for different reasons this time. There was a fast throbbing through their chest and neither of them was able to recall it came from who—probably because it came from the both of them.

Alex tightened her hold on the blonde. It felt so natural to have her in arms. She was well aware that she was slowly, or rather rapidly, falling back into the shorter woman's emotional hold and she couldn't help it. If having more time like this meant it was gonna kill her then so be it- she couldn't live without her anyway. The warm, wet sensation of Piper's breath against her skin made stomach clench and her hips accidently writhed gently against the woman on top of her.

Piper moaned and felt confident to escalate this further. Her lips closed on her neck and grazed the surface a bit before lightly sucking on that spot below her ear. Receiving no complain from the woman below her, she allowed her tongue to lick down the length of her jugular and her hand to travel between them and roam on her chest.

Alex grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Piper we shouldn't," she protested.

Piper's hand closed around her breast and massaged it despite the restraint. "Look at me in the eyes and tell me you don't want this as much as I do." She bucked her hips, earning her a moan from the dark haired. "I know you are aching for me baby"

Lustful green eyes showed a moment of hesitation, and then before Piper could even realize it, a strong body had rolled her over and lips ravished her own. Her tongue slid inside and caressed the roof of her mouth, then went deeper, too hungry for each other's taste to even take the time to breathe.

The taller woman's thigh found itself between the blonde's and she grinded, slowly at first, then harder as the need for release became too strong. Soft moans and whimpers echoed between the walls and it was probably the only blissful sound this room had ever heard.

They were interrupted by the sound of keys fumbling into the lock. Alex mumbled a 'fuck' and quickly stood up as Piper sat up on the bed. The door opened.

"Chapman, get over here," a C.O ordered.

Piper was brought first to Caputo's office and an hour later they had went to get Alex.

* * *

"Miss Chapman, describe your relationship with Miss Doggett."

"None existent sir. We barely talked." Piper lied.

* * *

Alex sat in the chair casually, one hand on her crossed legs and the other one holding the glasses she was nibbling between her teeth.

"Miss Vause, I understand you are a lesbian, correct?" Caputo stated.

"That's why you brought me here? To ask about my sexual preferences? Alex asked irritably.

* * *

Caputo fumbled through the papers on his desk and took a document in his hand. "I have a report here that says Tiffany reported you to Healy a month ago for…" He turned the pages and searched. "Lesbian activity," he said as his eyebrows furrowed, thinking it was a strange way of describe it.

"It was completely innocent, sir" Piper protested.

"That's not the point here," he said, throwing the report back on the table. He leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I've been working here since before you were born, Miss Chapman. I've seen things, oh I've seen things like you wouldn't imagine. I know fellow inmates don't turn it each other unless they have a reason to."

* * *

"Were you in love with her?" the man asked calmly.

"With all due respect, sir, are you fucking crazy?"

* * *

"She's crazy! She's just crazy that's why she did it," Piper exclaimed. "Pennsatucky and I, Tiffany," she corrected herself. "We share different values, that's all. She wanted me to believe in something I didn't. So we went separate ways."

"So you did talk at some point then"

Piper looked at him and thought _shit._ She was bad at this.

* * *

"One of Doggett's friend, Leanne, told us you kissed her against her will a couple weeks ago." Caputo said. "It all makes sense; you fall in love with her and she rejects you. You got angry… followed her outside and attacked her."

Alex shook her head. "This is fucking ridiculous," she said, looking at him straight in the eyes and added, "I did not kill her".

* * *

"I did not kill her"

"Are you sure about that?"

"Look Mr. Caputo I'm gonna be frank with you" she began calmly. "We had our differences me and her, but I would never, ever be able to perform such an act based on only that."

In a way it was true, she would have never attacked Penntasucky if it were not that she attacked her first. She was not a murderer and regardless of the outcome, she knew inside her that she was a good person. That's all that mattered she thought.

* * *

"There's a list, Miss Vause." He stated. "And you're on top."

"Cool?" Alex shrugged.

"You are the prime suspect," he told her. "Unless you can tell us someone else did it?"

"And what would I get out of this?" she asked, uninterested.

"Well, 8 years is a hell of time to be stuck in here, am I right? Perhaps we could change that," he suggested.

* * *

Piper was back in the SHU waiting for Alex to come back. She felt relieve in a way—first Healy hadn't given her up, probably because he was too afraid to lose his job, and also she knew now that what she had done wasn't wrong. Now she was determined to rekindle completely with Alex.

The door opened and Alex was sent back in. Piper stood up from the bunk with a smile and walked to her.

Piper hummed. "I missed you," she whispered in her ears as she wrapped her arms around her neck. "Wanna finish what we started earlier babe".

"Is this a fucking game to you?" Alex snapped and moved from the blonde's embrace.

"Excuse me?" Piper asked a little confused.

"This! Being stuck in this fucking hole, you and me. I've done shit and I'm stuck in here going fucking crazy while you act like nothings is wrong."

There was a beat then Piper asked softly, "Alex, what happened with Caputo?"

Alex shook her head and snorted, "I'm the prime suspect." Piper gave her an apologetic look- she never expected things to turn out that way. "I'm the prime suspect and I'm guilty unless I can prove it was someone else who did it."

"Oh Alex I'm so sorry I didn't—"

"He offered me less time," Alex interrupted her.

Piper eyes widened. For a moment there she was sure that Alex had ratted her up again, that all the moments they'd share lately, the I love you's, the loving gazes and the affection never meant anything. Her heart broke the same way it did the day Alex had asked to carry drugs.

"Oh don't you fucking look at me like that." Alex said, not surprised but still hurt that she'd think that. "I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I couldn't," she repeated. Piper was relieved. "I did it once and I shouldn't have, I'm so sorry."

The dark haired woman let herself fall on the floor and started crying for the first time in a very long time. It was all becoming too much to handle. She'd never asked for this. She never asked for to fall in love with this girl ten years ago and get hurt over and over again. And yet, she inevitably needed her. She wanted to live the rest of her life with Piper on a beach somewhere in the south and away from everything that keep getting in their way—the drugs, the prison, the fiancée and the fact they were both pretty shitty people to begin with. Although to her greatest regret, she had made that impossible with every mistake she'd made from the day she entered the drug selling business. How much she'd wished her and Piper had met in different ways. She dreamed that her parents had been well educated and had had money to send her to college to study literature or writing, there she would have met the cute blonde and invited her for drinks, fell in love over candle lighted dinners and silly movies like normal people do. She had ruined her life and Piper's too, and now she was paying the price.

Alex's sobs became uncontrollable wails. Piper sat down in front of her and put a comforting hand on cheek as she whispered, "Shh. It's okay. I love you".

* * *

**A/N: Whew, although it's late I'm glad I managed to update today. I'm juggling with twelve hour shifts at work, the writing of my screenplays and cookbook as well as this fic and a few others, but I promise to do my best to update fast. I hope you liked this chapter, as always reviews are what keep me going and inspire me, so please write me what you think! Much love to you guys. -Shirley.**


	4. Kiss Me

**Chapter 4**

"**Kiss me"**

"_I guess that's just part of loving people: You have to give things up. Sometimes you even have to give them up." _

― _Lauren Oliver__, __Delirium_

Piper had lay out the blanket on the floor and she lied on it with Alex. Strangely enough the floor was comfier than the bunk and also they had more space to stretch out. Piper was always the little spoon because Alex always been the dominant one, but this time it was the other way around. Piper lied behind her back, a comforting hand draped around her body and her face buried in her hair. The sobs became less frequent and then eventually ceased. Piper realized by the tall woman's soft snores that she had fallen asleep, so she allowed herself to do the same. It must have been the middle of the afternoon, but they were both very tired and time didn't really matter in this place anyway.

A few hours later Alex awoke. She turned in the still slumbering blonde's embrace to see her face. Exquisite; wasn't enough to describe the impeccability of her features. She was astonishingly beautiful even for prison- no make up and skin that hadn't seen the sun in months, she still took Alex's breath away every time she looked at her. The way her nose wrinkled in her sleep sometimes as if she was concentrating on something important in her dream was truly adorable. Alex bit her own lip, trying to stop herself from kissing the gorgeous woman in front of her.

Suddenly, Alex stomach growled. _Shit,_ she thought because the sound woke up the blonde.

Piper smiled, her eyes still closed and said, "Is it wrong that your bodily noises turn me on? Cause they do."

Alex laughed. "You're silly," she said.

Piper put an innocent kiss on her lips and opened her eyes. She looked behind Alex to see a tray of food. "Oh we got the food, wanna eat?" she asked.

Alex hummed and held the blonde closer. "Not now this is great"

Piper smiled and kissed her some more softly, no sexual intentions behind it.

Alex broke the kiss, her forehead never leaving Piper's. "About earlier…" she started, referencing the break down. Piper put a finger on her lips.

"It's okay, you have a right to be angry," she said gently, her thumb stroking her cheek.

"What are we going to do, kid?" she asked, almost in a whisper.

Piper sighed. "Well, the next time they bring us out of here for an interrogation or something, I'm gonna tell them it was me." Alex mouth's dropped and she shook her head 'no;. "It was my fault, I'm not gonna let them put the blame on you" she said succinctly.

Alex sat up, followed by Piper. "I'm not gonna let you do that Piper," she objected firmly. "You'll never be able to get out here if you do that. Just no."

"Maybe not. Maybe I can prove that it was self-defense and it's gonna be okay." Piper tried to reassure her. The look on Alex face told her it was not working. "Alex you said so yourself, I never take responsibility for my actions. Am I now so please would you try to be supportive for once."

"Piper, the chances of this turning out okay are really small." Alex reasoned her. Piper nodded, fully acknowledging the situation. "They could put you in psych or transfer you to a high-security facility do you even realize this" Piper nodded again. "What about Larry, huh? What do you think he's gonna say about that."

"Oh fuck him Alex. He left me. If he couldn't handle me at my worst then I can't be with him. I don't want to be." Piper explained. "Remember when you told me that life gets messy and you can't always fix it, well I can't fix it with Larry. He's a good guy and he deserves better. I know I can fix it with you though and this is why I'm gonna do this."

Alex closed her eyes and held Piper's hand on her chest. She whispered, "I can't lose you". Piper moved and molded their body together, an arm around her shoulder and the other holding her back of her head. "I can't lose you," Alex repeated in her ear.

"Maybe you won't have too," Piper said and truly wanted to believe it. "Look I doubt they'll come get us again until tomorrow, so let just enjoy the time we have alright." Piper broke the embrace. "Let's eat a bit".

They ate their meal quietly and as always it was disgusting. Piper had never craved for a big mac and a fries like this before and she was sure Alex felt the same way. She promised herself to drive right to a McDonalds when getting out Litchfield. If she ever got out of Litchfield.

They still had the whole night and it was starting to get boring so they decided to play games. Most of them they would get bored after 10 minutes until they started playing 'would you rather' things got more interesting,

"So would you rather; have sex with Crazy Eyes or lick the bathroom's fungus-infected floor for 5 minutes?" Alex asked.

Piper frowned. "Lick the floor."

"That bad?" Alex laughed.

"Yeah I don't think I could handle all the swirls." Piper joked. "Okay my turn. While we are on the sex subject, would you rather have sex with me the rest of your life," Piper grinned and continued, "or have a thousand sexual partner for the rest of your life"

"Hmm why do I feel like this is a trick question," Alex laughed. "Well for my health I think my gynecologist would recommend the first one, so yeah I'mma go for with the first." Piper poked her on the shoulder. "What that's not the answer you wanted? Alright, alright. I choose the latest then."

"You asshole!" Piper jested.

"C'mon Pipes, why would I want to have sex with a thousand strangers when you are the sexiest, most talented and most beautiful girl I have ever been with." Alex told her before pressing her lips on hers.

"Good answer," Piper breathed on her lips.

"Piper…" Alex began with a more serious tone. "Look I don't feel right about letting you take the blame for this. It's my fault that you're in here in the first place. You just did what you had to do to save your life and it would have never come to that if I hadn't brought you along with me to do my stupid shits and then ratted you up. It's all my fault."

"I did a crime and I was fully aware of what I was doing and I'm doing my time for it. It's not your fault; you never forced me into your things. I'm taking responsibility for my actions Alex." Piper explained calmly.

"I know, but still, ratting you up was truly fucking stupid and mean."

A light went on in Piper's head. "Maybe not…" she said. "Alex I have an idea and we could both gain something out of it, especially you." Piper smiled enthusiastically and Alex waited. "You could tell Mr. Caputo it was me. I mean he offered you less time right? You tell him you saw me attack Pennsatucky and then I explain it was self-defense like I was planning to do and…"

"No fucking way Piper," Alex interrupted her. "I can't do this. You can't ask me to do this it's too much. No."

"Alex… you could lose a lot of time on your sentence. Get out early… with me," Piper smiled.

"We have no guarantee he will really reduce my sentence, Piper!" Alex exclaimed. "And what if it doesn't work, huh? What if we can't prove it was self-defense and your sentence get worse. How am I supposed to feel about the fact that I will have ruin your life twice?"

"No we have to stop saying that. My life is not ruined and neither is yours. We are still living and doing our best and coming to prison brought us back together so it's the best thing that could ever happen to me. I think this is a risk we need to take for us. I choose you Alex. I want us to be together. No plan here, just us, going through whatever life throw at us." Piper explained and added, "That's if you still want me?"

Alex smiled and squeezed her hand gently. "I do want you Piper… and I'll do it, but one condition; when we get out of here, I mean out of Litchfield, you let me take you to Bora Bora or wherever you want to go and we get a room, a large hotel room with a view of on the ocean."

"Deal!" Piper said enthusiastically.

Alex smiled. "Good, but we need be smart about this. We need to plan something to be sure it work."

They carefully elaborated a plan, a risky one to say the least. Now all they had to do is wait and see.

"It may not work," Alex said and Piper looked down. "It might be our last night here together…"

Piper looked back at her with lustful eyes. "Just kiss me already," she almost begged. Alex moved and cupped her face with her hands, lips pressing hard against hers. "Oh god I want you so much Alex," Piper whispered between kisses.

Khaki clothes were thrown haphazardly on the floor and naked bodies blended together on the rough blanket. Their tongues and fingers explored each other slowly, memorizing with ardor every details of their body. Alex attacked her breast, massaged them tenderly then took one nipple in her mouth and sucked hard on it. A moan erupted from Alex as she felt the blonde's wetness spurted onto the tight that rested between hers.

A throaty sound escaped Piper's mouth as her body shimmered in arousal under Alex's. She held dearly on the taller woman's back, the friction of their writhing bodies being too much and not enough. She needed to feel her completely.

"I need you inside baby please," Piper pleaded and quickly after that two swift fingers entered her gently, but firmly and settled for slow, vigorous pace with her thrusts. "Fuck," the blonde whimpered before quickly reciprocating the movement.

Their body moved perfectly in sync, shocks of pleasure rushing through their spines strongly enough to make their naked figures quake and tremble and buck and against each other.

Moans, whimpers and body sounds reasoned shamelessly within the room. It was what made their love making so beautiful—it's wasn't about proving themselves to each other or making it look like in the movies, it was purely about pleasure, relief, love and most importantly freedom. They were fucking, maybe for the last time, on the dirty floor of a not-so-segregated room in the midst of a prison they both were incarcerated for being two complete idiots, and it was still the most beautiful thing they could ever do- being humans and loving each other endlessly because really why else are we living then?

"Piper open your eyes and look at me," Alex asked softly as she felt they were both near climax. Piper opened her eyes. "I want you to look at me when you cum and remember this." Alex pushed the other woman to her release and consequently brought her own, their gaze never breaking. Both bodies shuddered until the intensity of their orgasms lowered, then they withdraw their fingers and entwined them next to their bodies, completely unmindful of the warm wetness that coaxed them.

A single tear spilled down Piper's cheek and Alex buried her face in the blonde hair before her own emotions showed off when they let sink the fact that it was maybe the last time they ever did this. They stayed like this a little while, sobbing quietly until arousal grew again. The rest of the night was spent with a mix of cries and releases and a lot of wishful thinking, but mostly genuine affection.

**A/N: I haven't slept in so long so I really hope this make sense! I also just want to say that this is the most fun writing that I have had in a while; these two characters are so complex and interesting that it gives a lot of stuff to play around. I hope you are enjoying the ride as much as I do! Please review as it inspires me to continue and write this story****. **


	5. I Love You

**Chapter 5:**

"**I Love You"**

Piper and Alex had fallen asleep a second time naked in each other arms. Alex woke up a few hours later, not sure if it was morning just yet, but each second had to be spent like it was.

"Babe… babe wake up," Alex said, grazing her fingers on the blonde's back that lied on top of her. Piper groaned and nuzzled her nose in the crook of Alex's neck. "We should probably get dress. Our plan will be ruined if they find us naked." Alex remarked.

"I miss waking up next too and stay naked all morning in bed with good Brazilian coffee and the newspaper. You know like we used too…" Piper said with a pout.

They separated each other, collected their clothes, put them on and lied again on the floor facing each other. Alex had her hand on one of Piper's hips and caressed her gently, a smile on her face.

"We'll have those kind of mornings again Pipes… lets just be patient," Alex promised.

"I love you," Piper whispered softly.

"I love you too beautiful," Alex replied. "Always."

They heard two officers approaching the door. They quickly got up and threw the blanket back on the bunk.

Piper gave Alex one last peck on the lips before the door opened. Both guards entered, cuffed them up and brought them straight to Caputo's office.

Alex was the first one to enter room and Piper was to wait outside next to an officer, cuffed and looked down on by fellow prisoners that passed down the hall.

Alex entered the room and sat down in front of his office. Mr. Caputo adjusted his hideous tie and put on his glasses on the desk, then lean forward in is usual serious manner. "So Miss Vause, are you ready to confess today?"

"I don't have to confess anything to you because I haven't murdered this girl. Nobody did actually." Alex began boldly. "Tiffany is in the state she's in right now because of the actions she imposed on somebody. Everything that happened that night was her fault."

"Who's that somebody and how do I know your not trying to put the blame on another inmates to save yourself?" he asked angrily.

Alex shrugged her shoulder innocently. "Hmm, well I guess you can't really know that right? Tiffany is not waking up... So I guess you just have to hear me out, it's not like you can keep all those girls in the SHU forever. You'll have to find who's responsible for this."

"I'm listening," the man said.

Alex laughed and shook her head amused. "No, we talk about reducing my sentence first."

"Oh you and I both know I don't have that kind of power."

"Bullshit," Alex called. "You said if I gave you a name you'd talk about reducing it and I know you have connections."

He threw his fist at the desk and the desk and shouted, "I don't have time to fuck around this shit just give me the fucking name or I'll have you thrown in that goddamn hole you just came from for the rest of your life."

"No, see that's the beautiful thing about the fucked up justice, you can't do anything without proof, what you have on me is nothing but suppositions and that's not enough in front of a judge." Alex explained. "We are gonna make a deal; you arrange a trial to reduce my sentence and promise to protect the person I give up."

"What makes you think I'll respect that deal," he asked not really interested.

"Well, first because it's going to be done legally," Alex stressed the last word. "And secondly, I'm sure the Warden wouldn't want to hear that one of your beloved officers witnessed the attack and walked away." She shrugged. "You know, bad publicity and all, especially after the whole Mendez fiasco. Looks bad for you that all the staff you are supposed to watch closely are corrupted. "

"You're lying," he said as a knock on the door interrupted him. "Go away we are busy here."

"Umh, Mr. Caputo it's important." Officer Bennett said.

"What is it? Open the door," Caputo commanded.

Officer Bennett crack opened the door and said,. "I'm just coming to inform you that Tiffany Doggett died an hour ago." He left.

"Dammit!" he shouted.

"Okay then, so what are you gonna do now? Pick me or one of the girls and put the blame on us? Like I said, you have nothing to go on, especially now that she's dead."

He sighed. "Fine, but we can't make a deal if you have no proof either. So we are both gonna call our lawyers and I'm gonna call Nathalie. You are going to tell me what happened, and if it's accurate and they agree, we are gonna talk about reducing your sentence and then you tell me the name," he said sounding very desperate.

They made the phone calls and the executive to the warden and their lawyers were on their way. He released all the innocent girls who had been put in the SHU including Piper who was worried as hell for Alex. A an hour later, every one had gathered in the conference room.

"Alright so you are all here today because Miss Alex Vause here witnessed the attack on Tiffany Doggett," Caputo said as he stood in front of the room.

The warden sat on a table; her legs crossed and with an annoyed look on her face. "Excuse me, why are we all here, why isn't she just simply telling us who did it?"

Mr. Caputo looked nervous like he usually was in front of her. "She wants less years on her sentence in exchange for her confession."

Nathalie snorted. "That's ridiculous," she said.

"I really think we should hear what she has to say," Caputo insisted. "Look Nathalie, it could be our only chance to know who killed Miss Doggett and I think it's worth it."

"It's Figueroa, Mr. Caputo." She corrected him, insulted. "I'm listening."

Alex stood up so that she was in front of everybody and started, "So that night, I didn't assist to the Christmas concert like most of the inmates, I stayed in my bunk a good part of the evening when I decided to get some air. That's when I saw Tiffany threatening another inmate with a weapon. We both tried to reason with her and she wouldn't listen, she attacked… the inmate and this one defended herself. Unfortunately she hit her harder than she wanted too." Alex explained. It wasn't entirely true what she had just said, but it was still very plausible.

"Who is it," the executive assistant to the warden asked firmly.

"The contract first," Alex stammered.

"Do I have to remind you Miss Vause that we run the prison and you are just another inmate," Figueroa reminded. She sighed and closed her eyes to think a moment. Alex began to think she was as desperate as Mr. Caputo. Figueroa finally turned to the lawyers and said, "Bring it to me." She signed the contract and handed it to Alex. "We will request an hearing with a Judge to review your sentence upon you telling us the name."

"And you will protect the person," Alex stressed. Piper was far most important than her reduced sentence.

"If you weren't lying and the Judge agrees, then it will be considered self-defense, yes. And you better not be lying, Vause, because you may get your reduced sentence, but in the time you have left here we can make a living hell," Figueroa said and Alex signed the contract as well.

"I am not, you'll find out soon enough when you know who it is and plus she has the wound to prove it." Alex said and added, "Oh, but before, you should know that your dear Mr. Healy, witnessed the attack as well and walked away." Alex had waited that the contract was signed to say it so that he doesn't come mess up with her plan. She knew that whatever he would have to say after that didn't matter because he either was going to tell them what really happened, then lose his job or lie and say that he wasn't not, which would be perfect too because then their story would still be plausible. She noticed Mr. Caputo putting a hand on his face as if he knew he was screwed now.

"These are strong accusations, do you have proof that he was there? Do you have something against Mr. Healy to say such thing?" The woman wondered.

"Look you go ask him and find out or you can believe me or not believe me. Those are your issues." Alex said. "But you know as a inmates I really worry about my safety, you know maybe I could talk to my friend who's a writer for the New York Times about that." Alex shrugged her shoulders.

"Fucking Christ," Figueroa cursed and rolled her eyes. She turned to Caputo, "Take care of your staff for crying out loud."

He nodded quickly and left to Healy's office.

"The name, now so that we get over this and all go home." She asked.

"Piper. Piper Chapman," Alex finally told her. She suddenly felt very anxious again, but tried to stay calm in front of everybody.

"Chapman… the self-surrender girl?" The executive puzzled. "How could it be her..."

"You can ask her yourself, ma'am," Alex said with confidence. "As for I, I'll go eat a real meal and take a shower. You're welcomed by the way. Oh and I'll see you at the hearing," she said lastly to her lawyer before leaving the room.

Piper was brought to conference room as well and confirmed everything and told the same story as Alex. She showed them the wound on her hand as a proof too. They asked her why she hadn't come tell them this right away and replied by saying she was too scared to get sentenced longer and for Mr. Healy to lie about it since he wasn't trustworthy anymore. The executive started to believe that Healy had really walked away after she heard it a second time from her. She also realized both Piper and Alex had ambushed her to get Alex's reduced sentence and honestly she didn't care. All she wanted was to get this over with and avoid bad publicity or else the warden would have her ass.

Piper was so proud of Alex for doing such a good job with Mr. Caputo and the Figueroa that she beamed blissfully in the hallways after she got out of the conference room. All she wanted was to see Alex and have really really hot we-fucking-did-it celebration sex.

They learned later that day that Mr. Healy had been fired. He did not try to deny that he was there that night and instead said that Piper had killed Doggett. His accusations hadn't been taken into account considering he simply walked away and everything had been solved already. Both Caputo and the executive were glad to see him go, as he was starting to get old and more stubborn and idiot with age.

Alex was waiting for Piper on her bunk, thinking about the upcoming hearing. It made her both nervous and excited… now all she had to do is hope for less time on her sentence to get home to her girl early.

**A/N: So I know I named the story Room For Two and now they're out, but I still have more ideas to continue it further. There is still the hearing coming up and I'd like to make it more complex. Leave a review if you're still interested and tell me what your thoughts on this part! Thank you so much! Love you guys. -Shirley**


	6. Closet For Two

**Chapter 6:**

"Closet For Two**"**

_"Alex is tough. She's got a really tough exterior. But as you watch the show, you see that she's actually really vulnerable, she has her insecurities, and she's really loving." _

_- Laura Prepon_

Piper was running in the hallways so excited to see Alex and an officer yelled at her to slow down. She finally entered the dorm and grinned at the sight of her lover sitting on the bed with a book. "Alex!" she exclaimed blissfully. Alex threw the book and stood up when the blonde ran into her arms. "Oh my god Alex…" Piper said as she wrapped her arms around her neck and held her tightly.

"We did it baby," Alex whispered in the blonde's hair.

"We fucking did it, oh god I'm so happy." Piper said.

"Me too, did you shower already?" Alex asked quickly and Piper shook her head 'no'. "Come with me," Alex said enthusiastically, taking Piper's hand in hers and brought her out of the dorm. Piper smirked because she knew this meant something else too even though it wasn't what her lover intended.

They entered the bathroom and luckily it was empty. They chose the shower that had the most decent curtain in case somebody walked in, though most inmates were at work at this time of the afternoon so they didn't have to worry about that too much. Alex turned on the shower to maximum heat- in prison that equaled lukewarm for a normal shower—and began undressing herself. Piper mirrored her and smiled. They lingered a gaze on each other exposed bodies for a moment, enjoying all the delightful features, then Alex leaded them into the shower. The dark haired woman had her arms holding the shorter woman's waist, their forehead leaning against each other and their eyes closed peacefully as the water streamed on their bodies.

"So Pipes," Alex smirked and she asked in a childish voice, "Wanna be my girlfriend?" Alex thought it was time to make Piper hers officially. Subconsciously she feared that all that the talk they had was because of the insanity of being locked in the SHU alone for so long, she simply wanted to be reassured.

Piper smiled and nuzzled her nose on Alex's. "Maybe," she answered teasingly.

Alex opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Really? Do I have to remind you how hard I can make you cum?" she said as she lifted one of her knee and pressed it between Piper's legs.

"Oh god, yes, yes, yes" Piper agreed in a sexy husky voice. "You. My. Girl. Friend." Alex had begun to slide her leg up and down Piper's cunt and the blonde could barely form words.

Piper moans echoed loudly in the bathroom. Alex tried to muffle them by kissing her. She broke off the kiss and said "Shhh, you need to find a way to be quiet caused you've seen nothing yet. Wouldn't want to be caught and I have to stop this right?" Piper nodded her head rapidly and grinded on Alex's stilled tight pressing against her, craving for more friction.

This time the sex wasn't necessarily a quest for relief or comfort like last time as much as it was a way to pleasure each other to celebrate a victory. They profited the somewhat freedom they had lost over the last few days. Having sex was the most freedom a prisoner could get in prison and Piper and Alex profited every second of it.

"Turn around," Alex commanded as she put her leg down. Piper spine in her arm and faced the shower wall, her arms folded and bracing it. One of the tall woman's hands palmed her breast and massaged it delicately as the other roam all over her body. She kissed Piper neck and sucked hard on her pulse point, making the blonde's ass buck in her own center. The friction elicited a sharp inhaled moan from the woman behind. "Fuck," she mouthed. Alex's hand moved down to Piper slit and she slid two fingers between her luscious folds. She teased her a bit, moving up and down, occasionally hitting her clit.

Piper growled. "Baby I want to come," she said and begged her.

Alex's finger moved to strike her clit gently. "Your wish is my command pretty girl," Alex whispered in her ear as she slid two digits inside Piper's, thrusting into the deliciously moist cavern. A couple of thrusts were enough to make Piper come hard on her hand.

"Alex! OH fuck, fuck," she cried out as her release hit her. Alex put a finger on her lips and shushed her. When the rush of pleasure calmed down, Piper faced her.

"Too loud?" Piper asked, shrugging her shoulders apologetically.

"Yes, but I loved it." Alex laughed. "I know you can't help it I'm too good," Alex joked and Piper giggled goofily.

"Mmm your turn baby," Piper said before getting down on her knees and ravished the glistening slit in front of her. The blonde's tongue was like warm velvet dancing gracefully on her clit and it didn't take long for Alex to cum in her mouth. When she was done she got up and kissed her deeply to show her how good she tasted.

"I can never get enough of that," Alex hummed on Piper's mouth. She knew the blonde was smiling by the way her nose rubbed her own. She kissed her again. They held each other a little while and cleaned themselves before getting out of the shower and dressed themselves again.

It was about 4:30pm so they walked toward the cafeteria. Both girls were happy to see that Red was back in the kitchen and the strange looking chicken and rice they got served never tasted so good after having ate the food from the SHU for the last few day. Nichols and Lorna joined them at their table. They asked them what the hell had happened these last few days and the couple explained it to them without getting too much into the details. It felt so amazing to be around friends and out in the opened like this. They enjoyed their meals and exchanged banters with the girls, then after dinner everyone got their separate way, except Alex brought Piper to her bunk. Alex read a book to Piper like they used to the first time they were together whenever Piper had trouble sleeping or simply just wanted to lay her head in her laps and hear her voice. It wasn't the book that interested Piper as much as the comfort the other woman's voice brought her. The way she pronounced every word so gracefully and articulately amazed her every time. Piper thought she would do great being the person who made the audio voice for books. She saved that idea for later.

When it was time to go to sleep, it was excruciating to break apart, but once in their bunks they thought about being in each other arms and slipped easily into slumber.

* * *

"FUCK ALEX I'M CUMMMMMMINNG," Piper cried out at the top of her lungs when her orgasm hit her. It must have been the fourth time they had sex since they got out of the SHU two days before. They had done it in the shower, in the laundry room against the dryer (they got that idea from Healy), in the pantry and now in a small supply closet. All of those uncomfortable places made them want to be in a real bed so badly, but they had faith it was going to happen eventually.

Alex wiped her mouth and stood up, pulling up the blonde's pants as she did. "Piper for fuck sake, are you trying to get us shot?" she said sounding a little bit angry, but she wasn't really, Piper knew that.

"Sorry," Piper said shyly and blushed.

Alex smirked at her cuteness from being embarrassed and pulled a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "It's okay baby you know how much I love to hear you scream my name it's just I don't want to be caught," She pressed her lips on Piper's. "We should probably get back." She turned around and when she wanted to open the door it was lock. She shook the door. "The fuck?" she said looking over at Piper.

They heard laughing coming from outside. Alex hit the door and shouted, "WHO'S THIS? GET US THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!"

"We can't do that," said a familiar voice. It was Louann, Tiffany's friend. "See, I talked to Jesus earlier and he said he's with Penntasucky and she wants you to know that you dyke bitches that are gonna die just like her, but you won't go to heaven oh no you are gonna burn in hell. Starting now." She laughed and left with the other methheads.

"DON'T FUCKING LEAVE YOU STUPID BITCH OR YOU WON'T LIVE TO REGRET THIS" Alex yelled and banged the door so hard her knuckle was about to bleed. "FUCKKKK!"

Piper held her wrist to stop her from hurting herself and moved her from the door. "Shh, shh Alex it's okay someone is gonna come for us and it's gonna be okay, breathe baby," the blonde said in a comforting voice. She wanted to freak out herself, no one went in this corner of the prison very often and they were stuck in a very small and dark room, but seeing as Alex was panicking like that she kept it inside. Piper rarely saw her like that and it freaked her more than being stuck in this room.

"I can't be stuck in here Piper! I can't I can't I'm not breathing oh my god." Alex blurted out and started hyperventilating.

_*Flashback*_

_Thirteen years old Alex walked in the halls of her school, wearing proudly a rainbow bracelet around her wrist. She always knew she liked girls, and wearing this bracelet made her feel like she embraced herself truly. She hadn't told her mom yet so she could never wear these colors at home, too afraid that her mom would yell at her or tell her it's wrong. She thought that at school she was free, that she could be herself and that people her age wouldn't judge her like old people. Oh she was wrong, very wrong. _

_Alex accidently bumped into a girl and her glasses fell on the floor. "I'm sorry," she said shyly. Before she could even lean down and grab her glasses, the other girl's foot smashed them, breaking them in half and shattering the glass. "What the hell!?" she exclaimed, looking up at the girl. It was the same girl that made fun of her clothes everyday who hung out with a bunch of other rich girls. They all laughed at her._

_The bully took her hand with a strong grip and examined the bracelet. "Is that a rainbow bracelet?" she said with the bitchiest voice. "Isn't that what gay people wear?"_

_Alex pulled her hand from the rich girl's hold. "Please just leave me alone"_

"_You are gay because boys will never love you EVER. As a matter a fact no girl will love you either because nobody likes poor and ugly people," the girl pointed out meanly. "Take her girls." The bullies grabbed Alex and dragged her in the halls to the janitor's supply closet. _

"_You are gross. I hope you die in hell DYKE," the mean girl said before throwing her broken glasses at her and locking the door._

_Alex was left in the dark and everything was blurry without her glasses. She removed her bracelet from her wrist, threw it in a corner and started sobbing. _

_*End of flashback*_

Alex sat on the floor next to Piper, her head on her shoulder and sobbing quietly. Piper remembered that time Alex told she was bullied at school and got locked in a closet. The blonde caressed her hair gently and whispered, "Shh it's okay. You are not in school anymore and you are not alone. I love you so much Alex. Everything is gonna be okay." Piper sighed and they stayed like this until Alex stopped crying.

The count before dinner was really soon and Piper decided it was more than enough. Being stuck in a room twice this week was ridiculously and so damn maddening. She stood up, grabbed the plastic stick of a mop with both hand and hit the door handle repeatedly until it finally broke and fell on the floor.

"Damn my girl is strong," Alex said and stood up. The door opened and they got out quickly to their dorm for the count. When the count was over, Piper and Alex met again in the cafeteria for dinner.

The couple looked over at the meth-heads table and they laughed and grimaced at them.

"What are we going to do about them?" Piper asked Alex before munching a piece of orange delicately and savored it, rolling her eyes because it never tasted so good.

Alex sighed. "Well, we are gonna stick together, raise above and be better persons." She told her, surprising herself a bit by saying that.

"Wow where is my Alex Vause and what did you do with her?" Piper joked.

"Trying to be good so that we can get the hell out of here and be fully together, kid." Alex explained and squeezed her hand gently. Piper gave her a big smile that made her nose crease adorably. Alex laughed. Now all they had to do is wait to hear about the trial.

**A/N: Special thanks to the loyal readers who leave lovelies reviews every chapter! You guys inspire me. Please continue to review and tell me what you think! Hope you enjoyed this chapter **** -Shirley**


	7. Breathe

**Chapter 7:**

"**Breathe"**

It had been almost a week and Piper finally received some news about the hearing from Caputo. They had a meeting with their lawyers tomorrow and the court day was the day after. She went to find Alex in the laundry room to tell her. A part of her was exited to share the news with her girlfriend, but at the same time she feared that things would turn out badly and that all the great time they had spent lately would be ruined.

"Alex! I got some news!" Piper exclaimed as she went down the stairs to the laundry room. "Alex are you th—" Piper turned the corner to see Alex getting her face drown in the sink by two meth-head girls who held her head under water. "ALEX!" She ran to her girlfriend. "GET AWAY FROM HER!" she shouted as she tried to push off the aggressors. Alex was able to get off the water when the two girls withdrew their hold on her when Piper was able to tug them off. The tall woman ran in Piper's arms looking for support, choking and barely breathing.

Leann and her friend laughed before running away from the scene.

"Breathe baby breathe," Piper said giving small taps on Alex's back. The last gulp of water gushed out of her mouth and she coughed. Piper held her tight to show her she was okay now then moved her wet hair from her face. "I'm here," the blonde whispered, trying hard to hold the tears that formed in her eyes. She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if she had gotten there just a minute later. She stroked her hair gently and started crying anyway because she was relieved that her baby was in her arms and safe.

"Piper…" Alex started and swallowed the lump in throat. She pointed to an object beside the sink before passing out abruptly in Piper's arms.

"Alex?" Piper said feeling her girlfriend become heavier in her arm. She shook her body. "Alex? Oh my god Alex!" Piper panicked and looked beside the sink. A bottle of detergent with the cap opened was on the table. She stood up and ran to the sink to smell the water. The smell of chemicals tickled her nose. Piper body just about gave up on her when she realized Alex had just swallowed that toxic water.

She looked around her—there was nothing she could do. She ran upstairs so fast and yelled for help the second she was in the hallway. A Correctional officer walked to her and she explained everything quickly and the man called an ambulance immediately.

Another C.O went looking for the girls and later put them in Psych for their behaviors.

Piper ran down again to the basement and stayed with Alex. She watched the C.O perform CPR on her girlfriend while all she could do was cry in pain. The emergency took too long to come for Piper. Alex skin was so pale and she didn't need to be a doctor to know that this was bad. When they finally arrived, Piper watched her leave on a gurney and that's when the horrible fact that she was in prison hit her—she couldn't come with Alex to the hospital.

"Please let me come with her! She needs me!" Piper said to the C.O that held her back inside.

He politely apologized and told her to go be around her friends and that they would inform her on Alex situation once she got to the hospital. Piper fell apart completely and blamed herself for not getting there soon enough. Alex had told her a few days before that they had to stick together so that they get through this and she hadn't. Piper felt like she had failed her.

* * *

The next day at breakfast Piper sat with Nikki, Lorna, Boo and the other girls. She still hadn't heard anything about Alex and she had got every damn C.O mad at her because she kept bugging them for news on Alex. She had been told yesterday that she would got some once Alex got to the hospital and she was sure there now. She began thinking that Alex was dead and they simply didn't tell her. The thought made her want to throw up and yet she hadn't eaten anything since yesterday morning.

"Chapman," Nikki shot at Piper, bringing her out of her dark thoughts. "You gotta eat some. Red's quiches are delicious this morning."

"Not hungry" Piper muttered back, looking down emptily at the table.

Nikki sighed and Lorna chimed in, "look it's gonna be okay. Alex is a tough girl, she'll be fine."

"Yeah and you have to get some strength, don't you have your meeting with your lawyers today?" Nikki added. Piper must have looked really bad for Nikki to start saying those kind of things.

"Not gonna happen without Alex," Piper said and stood up to leave. She didn't want to be around anyone right now except Alex. Her poor Alex was suffering or dying in a hospital by her fault. This would have never happened if she had never beaten the crap of Tiffany. The meth-head girls would not taken their revenge on Alex.

Later that day she was on her way to ask a C.O again to get some info on Alex when Mr Caputo ran into her. "Chapman! I've been looking all over for you did you forgot the meeting with your lawyer?"

Piper looked at him confused. "But Alex is not here?"

"Doesn't matter. Come on, follow me," Caputo said and Piper followed him. She wondered how this could happen without Alex. It was her sentence after all and she was the witness to the attack.

They entered the conference room and Piper was greeted by Alex's lawyer and her lawyer; Larry's father. She started freaking out because she had totally forgotten about Larry and she wondered if he knew about this and if even Larry had told his father they were broken up. She then felt utterly stupid for even thinking about him when her Alex was at the hospital. Of course she still cared a little bit for Larry's feelings, but what bothered her the most is what Larry could do if he ever found out about this. After the article and the radio interview, there was no guarantee he wouldn't use this as a way to get more famous, especially now that they were broken up.

Piper sat down with the lawyers and Mr. Caputo and they discussed the procedure of the hearing tomorrow. Piper asked how it could work without Alex there as a witness but they reassured that it would be fine anyway and they didn't have much choice since it took everything to convince a Judge to do this hearing. They talked about things Piper didn't understand and it made her even moreanxious, but at this point she had no other choice than to trust them.

When the meeting was over Piper stood to leave but Larry's father stopped her. "Piper may I have a word with you alone please," he asked calmly.

Piper nodded and looked over at Caputo to know if it was okay. "Piper when you're done stop by my office please." Caputo told her before he left. Piper nodded again and once everyone was out her lawyer started talking.

"So Piper, what does my son thinks about this?" he asked.

She thought a moment, trying to see a hint in his face that he knew, but he remain emotioneless. "Umh he's, he's fine with it I guess," Piper lied. She was a really bad liar and every time she lied her lid fluttered quickly and she would blush. Larry's father had know her for almost 6 years and with all the things she had lied to him about her life and her past he knew by now when she wasn't telling the truth.

"Right. Piper I'm your lawyer and if you lie to me this isn't going anywhere." He began and Piper blushed. "My son tells me everything, hell he doesn't really have a choice I paying his rent. Look, I believe that you didn't kill this girl, but don't lie to me and don't lie to Larry. You are back with this girl, Alex right? The one that ratted you up?" Piper looked away and nodded. "Look what you do with your stupid life is not my business. But don't ruin my son's life more than you already did. Tell him the truth and let him move on and do us a favor, once all of this is over stay away from us and get a new lawyer."

Piper looked at him in the eyes. "Larry's a big boy. He makes his own decision even if you pay his rent and everything else."

"So are you are Piper, so are you." He said and left.

Piper rolled her eyes and sighed. She was glad Larry had never been so arrogant with her and other people. She wouldn't have dated him otherwise. Piper remembered that Caputo had told her to pass by his office and went straight there. Maybe he had some news on Alex. Maybe bad news. She quickened her pace on her way to his office.

"Mr Caputo you asked for me?" Piper said not even knocking the door before entering, too anxious to know why he wanted to see her.

"Huh yeah." He said, putting down his legs on the floor from the top of his desk. He dialed a number on his phone and gave it to Piper.

She looked at him puzzled and he gave her a look telling her to wait.

"Hello?" a voice said in the phone. A voice that she knew too well. It was _her _Alex.

"Alex baby?" Piper said so relieved. "Oh my god are you okay? What happened I was so worried."

"I'm better now. I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to contact you before, I was kinda busy trying to survive and all you know," Alex joked but Piper didn't laugh. She was still in shock to hear her voice. There was a silent beat and Piper eyes started to well up with tears.

"Are you still there Pipes?" Alex asked softy.

"Yeah sorry. I just can't believe I'm talking to you right now. When are you coming back?" Piper asked and wiped the tears that streamed down her face. Caputo was a little embarrassed and he just tried to occupy himself with paperwork.

"In two days baby. I was lucky because although there's some toxic agents in the detergent, the one used in prison is not deadly otherwise some inmates would try to kill themselves with it. They had to run some test to make sure everything was okay and give me plenty of fluids to clear the bad stuff away. You should have seen me poop it was worse than you in Java."

Piper laughed a little this time. "I'm glad you're okay baby… I don't know what I would have done if—"

"Don't think about it baby I'm fine and I'll be back with you soon." Alex reassured her. "So how did it go with our lawyers?"

"Well Larry's father is an ass like always, but he really thinks it can work without you there. Your lawyer will be there as well on your behalf to make sure your sentence is reduced." Piper explained and sighed. "I really wish you could be there. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to go through this without you."

"Of course you are baby, you're so strong. Before you go in front of the Judge, I want you to picture us free and out of Litchfield. On a beach, naked and me eating your pussy while you watch the ocean." Piper blushed and coughed; hoping that Caputo didn't overheard that. "Have that in mind and stick to our plan and everything will be fine baby, okay?"

"Okay." Piper smiled.

"Ok time's up Chapman, I got some work to do. Hang up now." Caputo ordered.

"Baby I have to go. I'll see you soon, I heart you and I love you. Be safe." Piper told her and blew a kiss in the phone.

"Love you too kid, I'll see you soon." Alex said and they both hung up.

Piper made sure to thank Caputo for the phone call and left his office. It was about 4:30 so she walked toward cafeteria and ran into Nikki on her way. She informed her that Alex was fine and that she was coming back soon. Nikki was glad to hear that. Piper was really hungry so she ate the whole meal this time with a peaceful mind. When it was time to go to bed Piper was too anxious about the hearing tomorrow to sleep but then she remembered what Alex told her—to think about the beach. She finally fell asleep with a smile on her face thinking about that.

**A/N: Wee! I'm glad you guys are still interested in the story. I'll keep writing as long as you want me too (and as long as there's something to write about of course). Keep sending reviews they always warm my heart and inspire me. Thank you so much, I hope you enjoyed this! Xo -shirley**


	8. Without You

**Chapter 8:**

"**Without You"**

After breakfast Piper was cuffed and was put in an orange jumpsuit. She rode to the city in a small van, followed by the executive to the warden and Mr. Caputo in their respective cars. She had hope that the van would have some window so that she could see the long lost view off the outside world that she had took so much for granted, but to her disappointment there weren't any. When she got out of the car she got a little glimpse of the city, but it wasn't enough. It was a beautiful afternoon. If she and Alex had been free she would have a picnic in Central Park with her and enjoyed the sun.

They escorted her in the courtroom where a lot of people were already there to prepare the hearing. At 1pm the audience started. Piper took a deep breath and remembered what Alex told her. The Judge was old, had greasy hair and looked like he didn't want to be there. Piper hoped it was only his mean traits that made her think that and that he was actually nice.

She was wrong.

The hearing was disastrous. Piper was so nervous that she was stuttering almost every sentence and the Judge just kept interrupting her and asked her questions that she didn't know how to answer. Larry's father, Howard, was there but she didn't feel like he was on her side even though he was defending her. She needed Alex. That was their plan, there were supposed to do this together.

Two hours later the Judge gave his final verdict and surprised everyone in the room. Alex got three years removed on her sentence—that was a lot more than Piper expected and she couldn't be happier. Her joy was quickly cut short when they declared Piper guilty. 4 years were added to her sentence for involuntary manslaughter and she was going to be placed in a medium-security prison for her reckless behavior that, according to the judge, was unnecessary cruel and could have been avoided. Piper and Alex's lawyers, Caputo and Nathalie all tried to intervene saying that this was absolutely outrageous, but the judge simply left the room. Before they took Piper, her lawyer told her he was going to try and fix this and make a complaint to the ABA so that they can disbar him and get a new trial.

Piper begged, cried and tried to fight the men who brought her back to the van. She had no clue of what just happened. She didn't know anything about the laws and if it was even legal for to judge to do what he did. She didn't know if it was fixable. How could it not be? She was innocent. Sort of. Maybe her lawyer could really fix it.

They were taking her to a medium-security prison. She wondered what that even meant. Would she be in handcuffs all the time? Or in one of those small cells with bars you see in the movies? Would it be worse than the SHU? Than Psych? Would she be able to make phone calls and have visitations like in Litchfield? Four years was a very long time. Four years without the love of her life, without her best friend, without her life. Just thinking about it all made her sick.

* * *

_**The next day.**_

Alex had recovered much faster than expect so she was released earlier. The hospital tried to keep prisoners as short as possible. Although she kind of enjoyed being out of Litchfield, being in a much more comfortable bed and eating better food, she couldn't wait to be back and finally see Piper.

When she got back to Litchfield she had to wear an orange jumpsuit again like the first time she arrived there 2 years before. She wasn't too happy about all the attention brought on her; a lot of inmates asked her what happened and some even though she was dead. She gave them unclear and brief answers and would just walk away. All she cared about was finding Piper.

"Hey Nichols!" Alex shouted across the recreation room as she walked to her. "Have you seen Piper?"

"Sorry sister, haven't seen her since she left for that hearing thing," Nikki shrugged and continued playing cards with Morello.

Alex turned around and saw Taystee and Poussey . "Hey girls have you seen Piper anywhere?" They shook their head 'no'. Alex was staring to freak out a bit. She wondered if something had happened with the hearing that she had to stay one more day in the city. If that was the case then maybe she still had a chance to be a witness and be there for Piper. She walked to the staff quarter, knowing she had to find someone other than Caputo since he was at the hearing too.

Once she walked in the hallway where all the staff had their respective offices, she noticed the door to Mr. Caputo's office halfway opened. Alex knocked on the door before pushing it. She found Mr. Caputo, Figueroa as well as another woman she had never seen before gathered around the desk. The last woman looked like she came straight out from the 1890's; she wore a grey blazer with a skirt that went down past her knees, her long, salt and pepper hair was up in a tight bun and her pointed glasses made her look evil.

"Miss Vause, I was about to come and get you. Take a seat. This is Rita Poratti, the Warden." Mr. Caputo told her.

Alex was confused. Why was he not with Piper? Plus the fact that the warden was there was worrisome because she was only there when something was extremely wrong. "Why are you not at the hearing?" Alex asked quickly and didn't sit down.

"Miss Vause I recommend that you sit down for this," Caputo said calmly.

Alex sat down and waited nervously for him to start talking. He looked over at the two women and began, "There have been a issue with the hearing…"

"What do you mean an issue? What kind of issue? Where is Piper?" Alex asked quickly. She was just about to jump on the desk strangle if he didn't talk soon. The anxiety was killing her.

"Piper was sent to Albion, a medium security prison across the state," Caputo finally said.

This was too much for Alex's nerves to handle. Alex turned around and barfed in a trashcan next to the desk.

* * *

Five hours fifty-one minutes is how long it took to take Piper to get the new prison. She only knew because from the back on the van she could see the time on the radio by the wire window on the wall that separated her from the drivers. She had stared at it the entire ride, thinking about everything. Like how time is such an interesting notion. There is always not enough of it, or too much. Either way, time is always a problem. You grow up wanting time to fly so that you can be an adult, and once you are you wish that time would stop going by so fast or you wish you could go back in time. Time is overrated. One thing she was sure of was that four years in a medium security prison was too much time. So much time that it made her want to end _all _of her time.

Piper wondered why this brought her so deep in the depths of despair though. She had encountered people with much longer sentences at Litchfield. There was Miss Claudette whom she had got to bond with while they shared a room. There was _her _Alex. There were all just fine. Or were they? They were alive for one thing, but being alive and living are two different things. You don't live in a prison; you survive.

When Piper arrived she got through the same procedure as she did back on her first day at Litchfield except she was handcuffed the whole time and the cavity search and been much more… thorough. It wasn't until she got out in the inmates lobby that they freed her hands. A bunch of different cliques all starred at her. They were divided essentially the same as in Litchfield; the whites, the blacks, the Hispanics etc. Instead of khaki shirts and pants for a uniform they wore forest green bottom up shirts with pants. For some reasons it made Piper miss the khaki color already. She had made memories with the khaki color and mostly the people in it. The inmates who were starring at her right now looked no one she had encountered at Litchfield; most women looked like the stereotypical murderers in the movies. Piper reproached to be too judgmental. Maybe they were all nice women.

One of the inmates shot her a deadly gaze because Piper stared back at them. Piper looked away, remembering to mind her own business in here and try to not act so entitled like she did all the time.

After all the new inmates had arrived in the lobby, they followed a inmates that acted as their guide to orient them in the prison. The lady guide was a lot less friendly and caring as Morello was to Piper on her first day. Her name was Monique and Piper had asked her if she knew when her commissary credits would be transferred and she answered," The fuck do I look like motherfuckin' C.O to you? Take care of your own shits."

_Yeah, a lot less friendly_, Piper thought. The tour around the prison was brief and Piper wasn't even sure if she remembered how to go the cafeteria or where was the bathroom. She noticed there was a lot more C.O around the prison than in Litchfield. She figured it was because the women here wee more dangerous and needed more surveillance. The thought of that made her nervous.

"Chapman! This is you," Monique yelled to Piper when they got to her dorm. The room was very similar to the one she had shared with Nikki and Anita at the very beginning, except there was a toilet in the corner of the room and the door seemed to be one that closed electrically. Piper entered the room and the rest of the orientation group left. There was only one inmate inside who were lying in her bunk and reading a book. She didn't even look at Piper or say anything.

Piper wasn't sure which one of the bunk was unoccupied so she chose the one that was the closest to the small window. She put her bag of clothes on the bed, wondering if she would ever get back the stuff she left at Litchfield. Suddenly, she heard knuckles being cracked and coughing being her as she emptied her bag. She turned around and saw a tall woman, like even taller than Alex, tattooed from head to toe with approximately 30 piercing in her ears and on her face.

"Who the fuck you think you are takin' mah bunk bed you little shit huh?" the women said. Piper noticed 8 gold teeth as she spoke and wondered if they were real gold.

"Oh this is your bed? I'm so sorry I didn't, here let me just take my things," Piper said in her typical naïve voice as she took all her clothes in her arms. "My name is Piper. Piper Chapman. I'm your new roommate."

"Move. From. The. Way. Now," the women ordered and Piper moved immediately. Piper sighed- if everybody was going to be rude like that her time there was going to be very, very long.

* * *

"It's a long and complicated process, Vause." Caputo was explaining to Alex after she asked why they hadn't filled a complaint to the ABA.

"Not too mention it would damage the prison's publicity if that case went out there," the Warden added. She was like Figueroa's clone, but a much meaner, uglier and scarier version.

"Oh fuck the stupid publicity!" Alex yelled and stood up angrily. "Piper doesn't belong there! She's gonna be eaten alive! You have to get her out! Now!"

"Why don't you just move on Miss Vause. You got less time on your sentence; you'll get out early and live your life or screw it or whatever. Just let us do our job for fuck sake and let it go," Figueroa said and rolled her eyes pretentiously.

Alex stepped closer to the desk, leaned forward on it and eyed them all consecutively before stating firmly, "I am not going to let that go. Even if that means I am never getting out of this place ever again, even if this is the last thing I do. I am not going to let this go. I will get Piper out of there with or without your help."

**A/N: Hi there lovelies, I hope you enjoyed this chapter I'm so sorry it took so long for me to update I suffered from a small shoulder injury and thus wasn't too much in the mood to write. Please keep posting review if you still want me to continue the story! Peace. –Shirley **


	9. To Fight Back Or Not To

**Chapter 9**

"**To Fight Back Or Not To"**

**A/N:** **A warning to my lovely readers: this chapter contains a lot of violence and ****RAPE****. If you are uncomfortable with that please just skip this part and you can always message me if you want. **

"_The most intimate feeling people can share is neither love nor hate, but __**pain**__."_

–_Tess Gerritsen_

Alex left the office furious and went straight to a phone. She dialed a number and waited…

"Piper I told you not to call me anymore, I need some time," Larry said in the phone after he heard he was getting a call from federal prison.

"It's not Piper, it's Alex. I need your help," she told him. Calling her girlfriend's ex-boyfriend was really a desperate measure. She had a plan, and hopefully Larry would care enough to help her.

"Alex I don't want to talk to you either and I definitely don't want to help you."

"If you still just even care a slightest bit about Piper, please hear me out. Please." Alex begged him. Alex wasn't the kind of person who begged, especially to a man but she was about to do anything to get Piper back and safe.

"I'm listening," Larry said.

"Okay, look there have been a problem and Piper got sent to a medium security prison and was added four years to her sentence."

"A problem? What kind of fucking thing she got into again?" Larry asked angrily.

"It complicated, a crazy woman attacked her and Piper accidently killed her," Alex explained briefly.

"Of course she did." Larry laughed sarcastically and repeated, "Of course she did!"

"Listen…" Alex started calmly.

"No YOU listen to me. Fuck you. Fuck her. I don't care what shit you got yourself into just stay away from me. I can't help you." Larry said and hung up.

"Fuck!" Alex cursed and shoved the handset back on the rack. She had to think of something else. She had never felt so powerless in her life and she hated that. It made her so angry. Piper would not see it that way anymore, but Alex knew it was all her fault. All Piper had been through was her fault. Sometimes she thought Piper would be better off without her. Right now she wanted to die. The pain of being powerless and not enough was too much to bear.

Feeling completely useless, Alex decided to get rid of her dark thoughts by occupying herself with work, hoping that Mr. Caputo, the warden and the executive would do something. She walked downstairs to the laundry room. As she got down she noticed the lights were off, which was odd because they were always on, but that meant she would be alone and that made her happy.

Abruptly, the second both her feet touched the ground, forceful hands grabbed her wrist on each side and tugged her body forward until she tripped and hit the floor. Her glasses fell off and ricocheted across the room in front of her. It was dark and without her glasses she couldn't see anything, but she didn't need her sight to know who her aggressors were; Pennsatucky's friends. How had they got out of the SHU from previously trying to kill her, Alex didn't know and frankly she didn't care much about that right now. She didn't even try to stand up and fight back. What's the point of getting back up when you are just going to end up being thrown down again and make the pain last longer?

One of the women had her knees on her back to hold her against the floor. Alex was forced to stay like this a moment and she heard the other woman clattered something across the room. When the noise stopped, Alex knew her life was going to end soon.

The woman walked toward her and Alex assumed by how close she heard her speak that she had leaned down on her knee too next to her body. "The lord said to punish the sinners and make justice," one of the women spoke first.

"Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe," the second quoted. Alex recognized her voice and realized it was Leann.

"Exodus 21:24 -25," the first one preached proudly and laughed. "You will suffer like you and your girlfriend made Tiffany suffer, and you will die cruelly like she died without mercy. The only difference is that you'll continue to suffer in hell while she'll continue to protect and cherish the good ones from up there."

Alex closed her eyes tight and whispered almost inaudibly, "I love you Piper".

A heavy metal object hit her back once and she shrieked in pain. Both women laughed and she was hit again and again and again. Each swing on her back brought a beautiful memory of her and Piper. It was probably her brain's way of dealing with the pain. It still hurt like fuck, but all the beautiful images that passed in her head made it easier. She could have thought about how she should have done things differently with Piper and reproach herself for not being enough, but it was probably her last minute alive and she wanted to suffer through them selfishly. Instead she thought about how happy Piper had made her, all their eventful trips taken around the world, the unforgettable nights shared together, all the perks and quirks that made Piper annoyingly lovable, and finally she thought about how Piper was the only one to ever love her so profoundly and veritably for who she is inside and not for what she represent.

Suddenly the woman stopped hitting and stood up. "Not yet. She hasn't suffered enough," Leann said to the other girl. They went away, leaving her beaten and bleeding on the floor. Alex wished they had just killed her. The pain was too much for her body and she passed out.

* * *

Piper had had an utterly crappy day. Everyone she had encountered so far hated her already, her counselor didn't do much counseling, she was denied a phone call and crying didn't help this time, and she was assigned to work in the wood workshop, which she was sure she would hate even more than electric.

It was soon time to sleep and Piper was happy to escape this horrible reality and dive into slumber where hopefully her dreams would be a little more pleasant.

Her not-so-friendly roommate entered the room and the electric door closed behind her and locked. Piper still didn't know her name so she decided to nickname her Gold Teeth. Piper tried not to make eye contact with Gold Teeth and continued to read to book she had started reading instead. She wondered where the other was since she assumed when the door closed and locked that meant it was nighttime.

Gold teeth changed into her nightgown and settled herself in her bunk at the opposite of Piper's.

Piper closed her book and the light to be sure not to bother her.

"It's fine I don't mind the light," Gold Teeth told her. Piper lifted her head and looked at her a little surprised. "Look I realize I was a little rude to you when you got here earlier. No hard feeling?"

This caught Piper a little off guard and she nodded and shook her head at the same time nervously.

"Name's Janet by the way, but everyone around here calls me Gold Gangsta," she told her. Close enough, Piper thought.

"Where are the others?" Piper asked her coyly, fearing she was going to spend the night alone in this room with her.

"Night shifts at work," Janet shrugged. "It's just you and me tonight Mary," she said to Piper and winked before going to sleep.

Piper figured she had forgotten her name already and thought it was Mary. She ignored it.

Piper couldn't get herself to sleep so she tried to think about Alex. She missed her so much already. It would be probably impossible to make a call from a prison to another prison. Hopefully she could send letters. It wouldn't be enough though- she needed Alex to comfort her physically. Piper sighed and imagined Alex on top of her, her head on her chest and the blonde gently caressing her hair. With that thought she fell asleep.

Piper dreamed about what she previously thought, except this time Alex was gently biting and licking her neck. The dark-haired woman started to hump her, slowly at first then it became harder and painful. Piper winced in her sleep. It felt so real. The blonde suddenly woke with a start and a hand found her mouth and muffled her scream by shoving her head in the pillow and holding her there. Janet was on top of her and with her free hand had a finger on her own lips, shushing her.

Janet took out a knife and put it on Piper's throat. "You try to scream or tell anyone about this and I'll kill you. You hear me?" Piper nodded quickly and just cried. She wasn't sure what she was going to do to her, but it didn't sound good.

Piper watched Janet switch the knife in her hand so that she was holding the blade. A hand still on the blonde's mouth to keep her from screaming, Gold Gangsta moved the weapon so that it was under Piper's nightgown and penetrated her with the knife handle.

It was painful like she was getting her inside tear apart and Piper looked down to make sure she was not using the blade. She tried to scream anyway and the thrust inside her just became harder. If Piper hadn't been so busy dealing with the excruciating pain she would have try to make sense of it. A woman she had met the morning before was raping her, it was gracious, not premeditated, random and cruel. How could you make sense of that?

"You are so wet for me baby I like that." Janet told her softly. That didn't make sense either. She was talking to Piper like she was talking to her girlfriend and what in the world was she getting out of this anyways?

This made Piper so angry that she bit the other woman's hand despite the forceful hold. She had been turned on by the dream she had just had of Alex. She was wet for Alex, only Alex.

Janet growled and held her even more strongly. Piper wondered when she was going to stop since her aggressor was never going to come like this. Maybe she was waiting for Piper to come, but that wasn't going to happen either. For a few seconds Piper tried to pretend it was Alex inside her to make it better, but it didn't work. Even when Alex was being a little rough with her when they were making love she was still gentle and loving. What Piper was going through right now was not sex; it was an assault. A relentless assault and Piper had had enough of being attacked by crazy psychos in one year. She wanted her life back.

With all the strength she had inside her, Piper sat up and shoved her elbow brutally in Janet's jaw, making her fall off the bed. She took the blade handle out of her vagina and screamed at the top of her lung. A guard entered the room quickly and handcuffed Janet then got her out the room.

Piper realized her abdomen was full of blood—blood that came from Janet's hand that had been cut when she held the blade to penetrate her. Piper just cried. She sat there alone with a stranger's blood on her, helpless and physically suffering of a pain that didn't even compare to how painful it was to have lost the intimacy that she had wished to share with one person only.

**A/N: Wow I didn't plan to write something so brutal today, but it sorta happened. I'm sorry. I promise lots of fluff and love soon so keep reading! Please leave a review and tell me what you think, even if you hate me for being so cruel to our ladies. Shoot out to the peeps that leave me a lovely comment every chapter; you guys are the reason I write. **


	10. Loved But Secretly Broken

**Chapter 10:**

"**Loved But Secretly Broken"**

**One Day After**

"Vause…Vause wake up."

Alex groaned. She was still lying on the floor of the laundry room unconscious when Nikki and Morello found her.

"Alex, c'mon babe," Nikki repeated.

Alex opened her eyes. "Piper? Piper?" Alex said and realized she was not there. She tried to sit up, but screamed in pain.

"Slowly, slowly," Nikki told her then asked Lorna to help her lift her to the chair.

"AHHHHHHH!" Alex scream when her back touched the chair.

"What the hell happened to you Vause?" Nikki asked and Lorna handed Alex her glasses.

Alex turned and lifted her shirt to reveal a huge bruise on her back that looked like the form of a pipe.

"Holy fuck, who did this to you?"

"Leann did and another meth head fucking bitches. Dammit. I thought I was dead," Alex said, but what she wanted to say instead was that she _wished _she were dead.

"You have to tell someone, this gotta stop you don't have to go through this," Morello reasoned her.

"I don't care she can fucking kill me if she wants to I don't care," Alex snapped. Nikki and Lorna shared a look.

"Is it about Piper?" Nikki asked and Alex nodded. "Don't get your hopes up, maybe they find a way to get her out of there."

"I can't lose her twice Nikki. I can't. It nearly killed me the first time and I don't want to be without her… I can't" Alex confessed.

"I told you… straight girls will fuck you up sista." Nikki looked over at Lorna and smiled at her. Lorna rolled her eyes. "Come here." Nikki helped Alex up on her feet and hugged her. "You too," Nikki said to Lorna and they all hugged. Alex was grateful to have such wonderful friend. She felt bad for not being there for them more often.

"Thank you… ow ow ow" Alex said and winced in pain when Nikki touched her bruise.

"Oh sorry. You should go to the infirmary." Nikki suggested.

"I will… after I go talk to Caputo" Alex promised and left straight to his office.

It hurt to walk, but she was surprised it wasn't more painful than that. She was almost certain no bones were broken; however, going to the infirmary was still a good idea. Maybe they would give her the good painkillers that she would use to heal another pain.

Alex knocked on Mr. Caputo's office's door, waited for him to answer, and she came in.

"Alex I told you we are doing what we can't but it's—" Caputo started but he stopped talking instantly when Alex lifted her shirt and showed him the bruise on back.

Caputo sighed and told her to sit down. "What happened?" He asked leaning on the desk in front of Alex and crossed his arm.

"You released them," Alex said simply. Caputo didn't need any more information to know what happened. "And this is what happen when you lock up the wrong people."

"I didn't want you to release them but the Warden said it was too expensive and gave the prison a bad reputation. I had no other choice," he defended himself. "I'm sorry this happened to you".

Alex just looked down and nodded. There were so many things she wished to say and be angry about, but at this moment she didn't have the strength to get it all out.

"For the record, I really am trying to fix things with Piper's situation." Caputo told her. Alex could tell he felt remorseful and that he was really trying.

Alex thanked him and then left to the infirmary. The doctor examined her and concluded that they were no internal bleeding or broken bones. To Alex's disappointment he prescribed her Ibuprofen and no sad drug. It sucked, but it was probably better that way.

The days passed and Alex still had no idea how Piper was. She had a bad feeling that Piper was hurt or something and she hoped that she was wrong. If only there had been some way to contact her and know she was okay. At least Nikki and Lorna were there for Alex, but they both know they could only make her feel better to a certain extent. One thing that made her happy though was that those two were back together officially as a couple—they both deserved some happiness and love. As for her back it wasn't hurting as much anymore, but she still had the pipe printed on her skin as reminder. She hadn't seen or heard about Leann and her friend so she figured Caputo and the Warden had finally dealt with it.

Almost every night Alex woke up with a start because she had a nightmare about Piper being hurt. Alex would dream that Piper would get beat up with a pipe like Leann did to her, but the blonde always died in her dream. She would then cry herself back to sleep.

One day Alex was having lunch why Big Boo and Yoga Jones when Nikki and Lorna came and get her out of the cafeteria because they had a surprised for her. Alex was grumpy that day and told them she wasn't in the mood for games, but the couple insisted.

"Look I just want to eat my lunch, get back to work and then not speak to anyone for the rest of the day is that to much to ask?" Alex grumbled.

Nikki and Lorna held her arm on each side and brought her to a dorm. "No you don't," Lorna protested.

"What are we doing here this not even our dorm—" Alex instantly stopped talking and walking when she saw the orange silhouette unpacking a bag at the back of the room. The couple gently pushed her forward. Alex didn't need to see her face to know who it was; blonde hair, a DOC jumpsuit and the beauty mark on her elbow that she would recognize anywhere.

Piper.

Alex darted toward her almost as she was scared the woman in front of her would disappear and she would wake up from a dream. "Piper!" Alex exclaimed and the blonde turned around and ran in her arms.

"Alex baby," Piper breathed in her hair. Alex held her so tightly; still not believing this was real. "I'm here baby, I'm here" Piper said softly as she felt doubt building in Alex.

Alex moved back just slightly in their embrace to look at Piper. She was real indeed. Gorgeous green eyes looked back at her with unyielding affection.

Piper framed Alex's face with her hands, before leaning forward, and captured her lips in a kiss that made their legs go a little wobbly and their hearts race. "Here let's sit baby," Piper said after she broke the kiss. They sat down on the bunk bed next to them and that's when Alex realized that Nikki and Lorna had left to give them some alone time.

"I can't believe it, you're here. I was so worried," Alex said as she held her hands tightly in hers. "How did you get back here? What happened?"

Piper let out a sighed and gave her a soft smile. "Well, it's a long story and you have to thank Mr. Caputo's brilliantness, yes yes I was surprised too, his idea was actually genius." Piper explained to Alex the whole story. She told her a woman named Janet who she'd been assigned the same dorm assaulted her. She left out the part that it was a _sexual _assault, too scared of Alex reaction to that—Alex had been through enough lately and Piper judged it wasn't important for now.

The reason of this random assault was because Janet suffered of psychosis and she had confused Piper with her wife, who according to the Albion's prison's Warden looked identically like Piper. Janet had killed her wife a few years before and that was why she was serving time in prison. The night of the assault Janet had had an episode and Piper had just been very unlucky and at the wrong place at the wrong time.

As horrible as it had been, Piper tried to see the most of it, because if it weren't for that the Warden of Albion's prison maybe would have never realize that Piper didn't belong there.

The Warden of Albion had looked into transferring her and coincidently Mr. Caputo had called him the day after Alex's assault and offered to trade Leann and her friend. This had made the Warden and the executive of Litchfield happy because that meant no more bad publicity and unnecessary drama for the prison because of Tiffany's friends. Piper hadn't been told that exactly though, she had been told that the transfer would work out perfectly because they were two women at Litchfield that needed to be placed in a higher security facility. Piper had assumed it was because of their attempt to drown Alex. That's what she told Alex and Alex decided not to talk about the second assault to protect Piper's feelings.

Everything had worked out perfectly, although Piper still had four years left on her sentence and that couldn't be changed without a judge. She couldn't be happier to spend them at Litchfield with Alex though.

Once Piper was done explaining everything Alex bursted into tears. The sheer fact that Piper had been assaulted was more painful than her own assault, and little did she know that what Piper had been through much worse than what she had told her.

Piper put a hand on her cheek. "Shh. It's okay. We're okay now baby don't cry."

Alex kissed her firmly through the tears. The passion grew and her tongue demanded entrance. Piper allowed her to explore her mouth as hands started to roam and grope over the clothes. Piper moaned and broke the kiss. "Alex… we shouldn't do this here out in the open someone could walk in at any moment." Piper pointed out. It was not the only reason why she wanted to avoid it, but she really didn't want to get caught and be separated again regardless.

"I know… I just missed you a lot, that's all," Alex admitted. "Can I at least hold you?"

"Of course," Piper said and smiled. They lied down in the bed, faced each other and wrapped their hands around on one another- no talking, just enjoying the other's presence in its most simplest and beautiful form.

There were so many things they needed to worry about, so many issues to fix and problems to come, but when the most important thing in your life had been lost, all that matters is that you got it back.

**A/N: Wow it's crazy to think that a few years ago I barely spoke English and now here I am, writing over 20k of words :D. I hope you liked this chapter. As always, I will continue to write this if you want me to, so please review and tell me what you think! Thank you! xoxo**


	11. Step By Step

**Chapter 11:**

"**Step by Step"**

A few days later Alex came get Piper from her dorm. The blonde asked where they where going, but Alex told her that it was a surprise. Holding her hand, Alex dragged her lover through the prison to the cafeteria. It was closed at this hour of the day, but Nikki and Lorna opened the door for them. They had convinced Red to borrow the keys for the evening. Nikki and Lorna escorted the newly reunited couple to the empty kitchen, and then to the pantry. Lorna strutted in front of everyone and opened the door with fruition on her face.

"Room for two!" Lorna exclaimed. Inside there was a mattress made of heavy flour bags and emergency fire blankets scattered on them and the shelves were decorated with old Christmas lights. "So this not a room in Bora Bora Bora, but we figured you could use some alone time, so there it is." Lorna said and gave them a smile that was genuine. She explained that they had two hours, after that they had to come back before the count for nighttime. Alex thanked her.

"Just try not to make a mess in Red's pantry," Nikki joked while looking at Piper specifically. Nikki and Lorna left hands in hands.

Alex put her arms around Piper back, brought her inside the pantry with her and closed the door. Alex was a little nervous being in a small and dark room, but knowing Piper was with her and they weren't locked in made her feel better.

Piper was anxious as well but for different reasons. She had to remind herself that the woman standing in front of her was her partner and not an aggressor. Somehow telling herself that still didn't make her feel better—it just made her think back to the night of the assault. An assault that Alex still wasn't aware of and Piper hoped she could get through this night and all the others without her ever knowing. She hated to keep secrets from her significant half, but if she had to go through some pain to protect Alex's heart she would.

Alex put her hands on Piper's lower back and tugged the blonde so that their bodies touched as she started drawing a path of wet kisses down her neck. Alex hands cupped her ass and massaged it firmly, tugging her even closer so that the short woman's center could move against her tight. "You look so damn beautiful Pipes. I missed you so much," the dark-haired woman breathed sensually and the warm air coming from her mouth tickled the shell of her ear.

Piper was tense and her eyes were wide opened, staring blankly at the shelves behind Alex. She got scared Alex would notice so instinctively she cupped the back of her neck and pulled her in for deep kiss, hoping to distract her. Her tongue swirled in the other woman's mouth and Alex moaned against her lips. Alex was too impatient to feel the blonde completely—her hand traveled south between their bodies and under the fabric. Fighting against her inner turmoil, Piper reacted to Alex's lovely and delicate touch and was triggered back to that night. Her traumatized brain went as far as bringing back the memory of Janet's rough hand making its way down her body with the blade, even with Alex's soft hands touching her. She wasn't about to have sex with Alex anymore, but with the haunting souvenir of her first night in Albion. It wasn't fair to her lover, and it sure wasn't fair to herself to go through this. Piper had really thought she could have deal with it, but it wasn't like she imagined.

Abruptly and before Alex could even begin her quest, Piper grabbed her wrist with force and pulled her hand out of her pants. Alex opened her eyes and looked at her with confusion.

"I can't, I'm so sorry Alex,' Piper said with distress and water welling in her eyes. "I love you," she said before running away as fast as she could.

Alex was so puzzled and staggered that it took her a few a second before realizing she needed to go after Piper. She looked in the hallways and in the dorm before finding her whimpering loudly in the bathroom. Piper was sitting on one of the broken stall's toilet, her hands trying to muffle the loud cries that came out of her mouth. Alex kneeled in front of her and put her hands gently on Piper's knees. "Piper… what's going on? What happened back there?" Alex asked softly.

"I don't, I can't, oh god, I'm so sorry Alex," Piper stammered senselessly. She was out of breath from the excessive crying and started panting.

"Piper breathe please"

"Alex, just go, just leave me alone," Piper said pleadingly.

"Piper, I'm not leaving until you tell me what happened. Nikki and Lorna made a lot of effort in trying to get us some alone time… just please tell me what happened," Alex reasoned her.

"Please don't make this harder Alex," Piper said looking away from her.

"Piper…"

Piper looked in her eyes and said firmly, "Go away".

Alex stood up, shaking her head in disbelief. "I don't get you Piper. You broke my heart by choosing Larry and I took you back…. For what? To get my heart broken again by you? I don't know how long I can keep doing this…" Alex told her before leaving her alone.

* * *

Piper and Alex avoided each other for the rest of the week. Alex still had no clue of what was going on and she eventually started to believe that somewhat, somehow Piper had chosen Larry once and for all. She was going crazy obviously because there was no way Piper could have contacted Larry and he had been clear about staying away from her.

As for Piper, she felt utterly terrible toward what she was doing to Alex. She tried to think of a million thing she could tell Alex instead of the actual truth—all sounded too stupid and she just didn't want to lie to Alex anymore.

"Where is Alex?" Piper asked to the girls one day at dinnertime. It had been two dinners in a row that she hadn't seen her.

"She's not eating anymore," Nikki said. "No idea why. Did something happen between you two, Piper? I mean I thought some yummy lesbianing in Red's pantry would bring you back to your honeymoon phase? Did you catch some STD Piper? That would explain why she's not eating any food. Or you for that matter. "

Piper didn't hear a word after the terrible thought that Alex was starving herself because of her. She stood up, brought a muffin in its plastic wrap and left to find her.

"I WAS JOKING BLONDIE C'MON!' Nikki shouted to her across the cafeteria.

Piper finally found Alex lying on her bunk, listening to the radio, and facing the wall. Piper kneeled on the floor and put a hand on her arms. "Alex baby can we talk?" Piper asked softly.

Alex removed her earphones and faced Piper. She waited for her to start.

"I'm sorry Alex. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you," Piper said truthfully and handed her the muffin. Alex stayed quiet and took the muffin. Piper continued, "The reason I've been acting so weird is because I didn't told you everything about my time in Albion prison. The truth is, I've not only been physically assaulted. I have been _sexually _assaulted."

"Piper…" Alex started and her heart ached too much to even form words. Of all the things she had imagined on why Piper was avoiding her, this had never crossed her mind. She felt furious, not against Piper but to the horrible person who had done this to her. Alex tried to maintain herself from punching something and also from crying. She didn't know what to say.

"Do you forgive me?" Piper asked, not sure if she had, judging by the lack of words coming from Alex.

"Piper I was never mad at you… I just thought, I never imagined that, I just, if only I had known, I would have never," Alex stammered quickly. "I'm so sorry baby," Alex added and went to put her hands on her, but stopped herself. Piper noticed.

"It's okay Alex you can touch me. It's just when you started being more intimate with me the other day I just couldn't get myself to stay in the moment and I freaked out. It's still fresh in my mind. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to make you sad, but turns out I did more harm. I'm really sorry," Piper explained and took her hand and laced their fingers. "I love you"

"I love you too Piper. I'm so sorry you went through this. I'm so angry. So angry at the person that did this. You've been through so much already and you didn't need that too. I don't know what to say except that I want you to know that I'm not going to push you. Even if you never want to have sex again I just want to be with you and know that you are safe," Alex said and meant all of it.

Piper dried the tears that escaped her girlfriend's eyes with her thumb. "Alex Vause don't be silly. I'll want to have sex eventually, we need that connection and I'm not gonna let her take this away from us. I just need us to go slow alright."

"Absolutely. But please Piper, please don't push me away. I want to help you. I'm not sure how, but I love you and I want us to get through this together," Alex pleaded. Piper could see how much Alex had grown over the years and with all they had been through. She was proud of her girlfriend and fell safe and loved as ever in her life.

Piper promised her not to run away this time. They embarked on a journey of rediscovery and fought to get back the intimacy that had been stripped from them. They did research in the library about the recovery of sexual assault survivors, but what helped the most is that Alex, probably for the first time in her life, had gave all the control and power to Piper.

**Step 1: Communication**

Alex and Piper made use of their recently acquired knowledge on the subject and decided they needed to do this right so they followed a book. The first step was to communicate. To tell your partner about how you feel toward the situation and, when you feel comfortable enough, describe the assault. Before they started Piper promised Alex she would do her best not to hold back and Alex insisted it was okay for her to take her time. By the end of the day Piper had told her partner everything. From how it happened in details to why it happened. Although Piper got in details she tried not to be graphic, but Alex's thoughts were horrible regardless. Piper could see it was hurting her, but she had made a promise she was determined to keep. It was important that Alex knew what she had went through so that she could help her better before they started the physical recovery.

**Step 2: Intimacy is not always sexual**

The book suggested to start rediscovering each other's bodies without involving the genitals. Various activities were proposed such as drawing on your partner back with fingers like kids, do each a manicure and a bunch of stuff like that that they couldn't do because of the restriction prison imposed. They tried the first one in the chapel, but it just ended that they had stop because it made them both too turned on. They laughed a lot though and Piper enjoyed seeing this more childish version of Alex.

**Step 3: Looking, no touching.**

This one they enjoyed a lot. They took a shower together one morning. It took so much time that they missed the food line, but it was worth it. The sight of each other's glorious body was long missed. They remembered the numerous time they had made love in this shower before Piper was sent away. Piper really wanted to make physical contact at this point, but she resisted and Alex wasn't expecting anything anyways. She loved her for that.

**Step 4: Review step 1,2 & 3 before continuing (AKA Fuck what the book says)**

The couple was hidden in the library reading books when suddenly Piper straddled Alex's laps and made out with her. Piper's hands would roam on Alex's chest, but the dark haired woman didn't reciprocate. They had made out since the assault when they first saw each other again. Piper was comfortable with kissing and Alex was not one to complain. They had missed one another's skillful and talented tongues and lips and mostly the passion that writhed fervently in their bodies like no kiss ever did on earth.

**Step 5: Start slowly (AKA the book was useful after all)**

Whenever they would make out Piper's desires to push deeper would grow. They decided to look at the book again. It said to go slow. So they did. Sort of. They moved to the second based without hitting any homerun at first. They felt like teenagers again. One time Piper came accidently from the dry humping. An orgasm felt so good and relieving after all this time and Piper wanted Alex to feel that too so she used her fingers to pleasure her and made her come twice. Piper didn't think much of the assault anymore. When she started to zoom out she would open her eyes and look at her lover to ground herself. Alex was aware of why she was doing this and so every time she would smile lovingly at her or whisper something like 'I heart you'.

They had made a lot of progress in a month, and hopefully soon enough Piper would give herself completely to Alex again. Their love could overcome everything thrown at them, though they sincerely hoped it was the last thing they had to go through. Time would tell.

**A/N: An update finally! I wrote the recovery so that it fits in one chapter because I don't want to make this all about the assault, I hope it was fine and written okay. **

**Credit to whatever article about intimacy recovery I read back when I wrote a thesis about it for helping with this. **

**Thank you all for being so loyal to the story. Keep reviewing; your comments make me happy. Do you guys think Piper and Alex will go all the way without any problem or will something happen?**


	12. I Would Die For You

**Chapter 12:**

"**I Would Die For You"**

It had been another month later and Piper and Alex still hadn't succeeded to go all the way. Piper was able to pleasure Alex without any problem, but every time Alex would touch her Piper freaked out. At least she wasn't running away from Alex like the first time. Whenever it happened, they talked about it or about something else completely. Alex continued to be über supportive like she had never been with anyone in her life. Piper knew this was something big and she felt grateful every single day to have her.

They decided to take a break from trying to see where things would lead them. Maybe all she needed was more time. The books available to them were only useful to a certain extent. It would have helped to have more meaningful resources like a shrink or support groups. There was a shrink available for the inmates, but he was a 68 years old man who crept everyone. Piper didn't want to go to him for anything. It wasn't like she could go to him and say "hey I need help so that I can have sex with my girlfriend again" when it's against the rules to do so in prison.

Even though Piper and Alex weren't having sex they acted like they were on their honeymoon phase. They would whisper to each other sweet nothing and giggle or hold hands amorously. Their friends nagged them for being so cheesy, but were happy for them nonetheless. After everything Alex and Piper had been through over the last few months- the fact that they were together and safe made them whole. They still had their issues; like the fact they had no idea how to fix the sex problem, the frequent nightmares on both parts and the fact that Alex still hadn't told Piper about the second assault. They had time to figure all that though, for one Piper and Alex had respectively 4 and 3 years left on their sentences, and there was the promise made that none of them would run away again. It was reassuring and stress-free, and that's all that mattered.

One day at breakfast Nichols and Morello had a different vibe coming from them. Not in a bad way-they were always acting a bit weird, but something felt odd. The girls all noticed, but Alex was the only one to speak up about it. "You guys are acting strange, you know that?" Alex observed.

"I agree," Piper seconded and the rest of the girls nodded and hummed in agreement.

Lorna grinned and Nikki put her trademark smile. "Wanna tell 'em babe?" Nikki asked her girlfriend as she put an arm around her waist.

Morello raised her hand and showed everybody that she was wearing a ring on her finger. "Nikki asked me to marry her!"

Everyone stayed silent for a beat, completely astonished by the news.

"Woah, this is something, umh congratulation!" Piper broke the silence first.

Alex took Lorna's hand and examined the ring. "Fuck is this made of like, wires? You did this Nichols?" Alex asked her. The ring was made of two electric wires from the electric shop; one was bent in a circle and the other was twisted around the top in a bundle to form a stone. Nikki nodded. "Shit that's impressive. Told ya you were crafty." Alex complimented. The last time she had seen her do something crafty was for Morello last Christmas, but Alex didn't think she would go that far. Alex didn't even think Nichols was the marrying type.

Piper thought the same as Alex because she asked them how all this had happened. Lorna told them with excitement how she proposed.

"It's a funny story actually. We were you know," Lorna signed two fingers going inside a vagina. "And as always it's like she wants to climb to womb and like nest there so we started talking about babies and baby names, we are gonna name ours Maria and Tony like the main characters in West Side Story, and anyways we talked about marriage and like unexpectedly, like I really really didn't expect it, she reached in her cleavage and pulls out this ring and she's like with her cute puppy face asking me to be her wife". Nikki smiled and kissed her cheek.

Piper and Alex exchanged a look and smiled at their friends. "So when's the big day?" Piper asked with a little too much enthusiasm and Alex giggled. She poked her with her elbow.

"Well we are going to have this big wedding once we are out, but before we want to have one with all you guys there since we all have different release dates so we are going to do a fake-ish wedding in the chapel" Lorna explained.

"Sister Ignalls agreed to be the minister. Believe it or not the lady is excited to practice her stuff on us." Nikki said and talked in a more relaxed manner then her partner.

"Oh there's one more thing, Alex you are gonna be Nikki's maid of honor," Lorna told her and Alex's eyes shot wide open. "And since we thought it would be cute that our maids of honor be a couple well Piper you are gonna be mine."

"Excuse me you are asking me what?" Alex said but Piper poked her in the ribs again.

"Absolutely! We'll do it." Piper exclaimed and smiled genuinely. She was glad for her friends and a wedding was probably the happiest you could get in a prison. Alex was glad as well, but the though of being a maid of honor to someone was overwhelming. She never had much girl friends growing or even in her twenties- they were either drug mules or her colleagues who she could never count on as friends.

Later in the day Alex talked to Nikki when she went to drop her laundry bag.

"So I don't think I told you but congrats on your engagement Nichols," Alex told her truthfully. There was a spark in Nikki's eyes. She couldn't tell Lorna meant the world and made her happy.

"Thanks man. I really love her you know. I haven't been this serious and dedicated to something since heroin." Nikki confessed and Alex knew this was big. Alex understood the analogy very well because she felt the same now with Piper; the blonde gave her as much and even more satisfaction as her old job. Unfortunately it took her a lot of time to realize that.

"Don't take this the wrong way but I never imagined you as the marrying type," Alex admitted. She never imagined herself as that either, but now she didn't know anymore. All her grand plans had failed and she had new perspectives on life.

"Me neither. But I love her man and I know it's her dream to have a wedding. I want to give her that. And I already know that I want to spend my life with her so I don't mind having a wedding to official it. Marriage isn't bad when you just see it as simple as it supposed to be- a promise to be together forever. It's the society that fucked its meaning with religion and bureaucrat and divorce and shits. There's no piece of paper that will ever be enough to prove my love to her, but what if we want to celebrate it, have every know and call each other wives for the rest of our life? That's all good with me." Nikki explained seriously. Alex never realized how smart she was until now. She had never thought of marriage that way. Her parents were divorced when she was three and she grew up hearing her mother talk about how horrible it was.

"That's wonderful Nichols. I'm glad to be a part of it." Alex said as she gave her back her laundry label.

"Thanks Vause. But you sure you want to be my maid of honor? I mean it was Lorna's idea and-"

"Absolutely," Alex cut her immediately. She wasn't sure at first but after what Nikki had just said she wouldn't miss this chance for the world.

"Alright, see you later" Nikki winked at her and left.

After work Alex went to find Piper on the tract. She watched her run for a few minutes before going to her. The blonde ran with so much grace and joy. It made Alex happy to see her like that.

"Hey beautiful, walk with me and cool off?" Alex asked her and grabbed her hand. Piper nodded. They walked on the tract hands in hands and talked.

"It's great that Nikki and Lorna are getting married," Piper mentioned. Alex smiled. "I have to admit I didn't expect that. When I first met her on my first day here she was all about her fiancée Christopher."

"And you were all about Larry," Alex reminded her, without the intention of being mean. Piper sighed. "Do you miss it?" Alex asked.

"It? You mean him? What?" Piper asked confused and looked at Alex with a worried look on her face.

Alex smiled softly. "I mean, do you miss the certainty and safety with him. You know, the engagement, the promise you made together. I don't want to know if you miss him to be honest."

"I really don't miss him. And to answer your question, I don't really miss it because I see things differently now. The certainty and the safety coming from the engagement weren't real. Putting a ring on my finger didn't protect me from him leaving me, or me cheating with you. It just makes you look more like an asshole when you do because you're engaged. Now I believe what establishes a true certainty are the challenges life throws at you. Like us for example; we've been through hell and look at us, we are stronger, better versions of ourselves and we are better than we were as a couple than 10 years ago." Piper explained and Alex smiled at her. Piper smiled back and continued, "You never left me. I'm pretty sure Larry would have never stayed with me if something like that would have happen with him. So I have never feel this certain and safe in my life with anyone but you. And we promised each other we wouldn't run, and I know you'll stick to that promise because I have seen you do it already." Alex knew Piper was talking about the fact that she stayed even without the sex. "I hope you feel the same way," Piper added.

They stopped walking and Alex pulled her in an embrace. "Absolutely," Alex said and buried her face on the soft spot between her shoulder and her neck. "I love you Piper Chapman, you know that right?" I would die for you. I mean it. And I'm glad I can provide you some certainty and safety while being completely screwed up, impetuously stupid and scared to death to plan anything." Alex's fear to plan anything goes back from since she was around 18. She had planned to go to college and do something smart so that she didn't end up like her parents, but her mom informed her she couldn't afford to pay for her to go. Then she had gotten over it and eventually joined the drug importing business and had made grand plans that failed to because 1) Piper had left her and 2) she was sent to prison. Alex had just gotten tired of always failing and ended up living a carefree life. Like Piper, recent events had changed her and she saw things differently now. She felt more confident to make plan and promises now, especially with Piper.

"You are not screwed up Alex," Piper told her and searched for eyes but Alex looked away. She pulled her chin gently so that was looking at her and repeated, 'You are not screwed up. You made mistakes like me and like everyone. You have grown so much Alex and I'm so proud of you. I always known you had the potential of being a good, caring human being if you stopped being scared and you let yourself be. I know life wasn't easy for you and your parents, they were real screwed ups. But Alex, look at yourself now, you are the most loving and caring person I know. I'm so glad to have you. I love you so much." Alex held her tight. Whenever Alex held Piper, it was like she was a precious jewelry locked safely in a chest, where no one could harm her or make her upset. The blonde felt safe with her like she had never been with anyone.

_**14 days later: The Wedding**_

Nikki and Lorna had their ceremony in the chapel. They arranged to have two inmates that were more acquaintances than friends to guard outside and make sure the wedding wouldn't be disturbed. The couple exchanged their vows in their own typical Nikki and Lorna way and made everyone laugh. Alex and Piper's job as maids of honor ended up was only to stand up next to them in front of everyone, which Alex hated deeply, but it was the meaning that counted. The whole thing was beautiful, sweet and funny and before the night arrived Sister Ignalls had declared them wife and wife.

Afterwards, Alex and Piper spent the little time they had left before the count, talking and kissing. The merriment of the day made it easier be separated for the night and they dove into deep slumber quickly without having any nightmares.

**A/N: I really love Nikki and Lorna so made this chapter about them with Piper and Alex being the center as always. Hope you liked it. So sorry for the mistakes, no beta and im exhausted. I love reading your kind review please continue to write them. **** Love, -Shirley. **


	13. Till The End Of Time

**Chapter 13:**

"'**Till The End Of Time "**

Piper nightmares had worsened over the last few days. She jerked awake in the middle of the night and cried without even being able to recall her dreams, just knowing they were horrible. She told Alex about it and her girlfriend told her it happened to her too sometimes. They both badly needed each other's presence at night more than ever, but prison had taken that, among many things, away from them. At least they could spend time together before the night count, but only if they were lucky and the C.O on duty was tolerant that they could hold each other.

Tonight Fisher was on duty and Alex got to lie in bed with Piper as her little spoon. Alex did something that she never thought she would do—she sang for Piper, softly in her ear so that only she could hear her voice. She chose one of Piper's favorite songs from Lana Del Rey called "Blue Jeans". Alex didn't think she had a good singing voice, but she knew Piper would appreciate the effort and that it would soothe the turmoil in her head.

_I will love you 'til the end of time_

_I would wait a million years_

_Promise you'll remember that you're mine_

_Baby can you see through the tears_

_Love you more_

_Than those bitches before_

_Say you'll remember, oh baby, say you'll remember, oh baby ooh_

_I will love you 'til the end of time_

Piper smiled as Alex sung because she felt like Alex meant each verse and tried to reach her soul with the words.

It wasn't the kind of thing Alex would have done when she first met her. If Piper was feeling sad or angry, her girlfriend's intuitive response was sex because that was the only way she knew to deal with emotions. Now that that wasn't an option anymore, Alex had learned that simpler actions like talking, taking walks or holding each other worked well too. She remembered to keep a good balance of both in their future, if eventually Piper would want to have sex with her again. Alex had faith that Piper would allow her to touch her sexually again someday. Her girlfriend deserved the release and the pleasure, and she knew she would eventually crave it, not just sexually, but spiritually as their love making always evoked a connection.

The blonde's neck was warm with Alex's breath dancing on its surface. She grabbed the other woman's hand that lied on her hip to put it on her heart. It was beating fast for her. "Touch my breast," Piper commanded in a low voice so that nobody hear. Alex asked her if she was sure and Piper lowered her hand on her breast. Alex began massaging it as passionately and gently as she could. Piper moaned and sighed as it removed some of the tension she felt, and Alex toyed with her lobe between her teeth. It brought a feeling inside Piper that was long gone, destroyed and needed. Her body overflowed with desire for her girlfriend. "Oh my god Alex don't stop, go lower," Piper whimpered and slid her hand toward her pants… and just as Alex's finger found their way under the elastic band, they heard footsteps walking near. Alex removed her hand and they both sat up abruptly on the bunk. Bennett informed them there was a bunk inspection tonight and apologized respectfully. He looked around for suspect items and then left. Probably a missing screw driver missing in electric shop or something. By the time the COs were done inspecting all the bunks, the count down for the night was in five minutes. Alex gave her a quick peck and an apologetic look before leaving to her own bunk. They had made progress that night, but unfortunately time wasn't on their side.

* * *

"So how is married life treating you Nichols?" Alex asked casually over breakfast the next day.

"Pretty good man, got the best wifey," Nicky said and kissed Lorna's cheek.

Alex's arm was around Piper's shoulders and the blonde kissed her hand. "And I got the best girlfriend." Piper said blissfully and looked at Alex who smiled lovingly at her. It was like they had fell in love all over again. They had always been insanely in love with each other, but never really knew how to love each other properly. Life had made them stronger and smarter, and now that they knew how to be a couple they were going to be one for the rest of their life.

The first snow of November had fallen the night following, and whenever it snowed, randomly chosen inmates had to report to shovel duty. When a C.O woke you up for this, you had 2 minutes to get up, get your senses together and put on your winter clothes and go outside. Piper, Alex and four other girls were chosen. They all met outside next to the shed in which they put the shovels. The C.O told them to shovel all the snow and to get back when they were done. When he was done talking, he went back inside, probably not wanting to freeze his ass. That meant no surveillance and no yelling to shovel faster. The weather was nice and the snow light to shovel. Everyone was happy.

The prisoners put their shovels back in the shed. Alex and Piper were last and waited until all the girls were on their way back inside to hold each other and kiss a bit. "Your lips are chapped Pipes," Alex breathe on her lips and then licked and sucked on them.

Piper closed her eyes and savored Alex's taste on her lips. "Mhhh," Piper hummed and opened her eyes. She looked around in the shed- the shovels used half the space and at the opposite near a small window were a small desk and a chair. "What time is it, d'you know?" she asked curiously with an idea in the back of her mind.

"I think it was like three twenty am when we left the building. It must be around four. " Alex answered. Piper nodded. Next count was at 6:30 am.

"Close the door," Piper ordered with a look on her face that Alex knew too well. Alex obeyed and Piper threw her coat, hats and heavy winter pants on the floor so that she wore only a shirt and underwear. Luckily the shed was heated, so no need to worry about the cold. Alex mirrored her then made her way to Piper. The blonde grabbed her hand and pushed her delicately toward the chair that was in front of the desk. Alex sat down and Piper straddled her laps. Piper smiled a devilish grin before slowly starting to kiss her girlfriend's cheekbone and lifted Alex's glasses on her head. The blonde's lips found their way back to the one's of the woman below her. She cupped her face with her hand and brushed the surface of her lips gently as a sweet prelude. It escalated to a hungry wet kiss and soon Alex darted her tongue in Piper's mouth. The woman on top welcomed her tongue and allowed it to explore freely the moist cavern before she moved her head back and sucked on it hard.

"Fuck Piper, I need you," Alex allowed herself to say for the first time since the assault. She felt Piper's feeling was consensual and Alex would be ready to stop at anytime if asked. Alex grabbed the hem of her shirt and pulled it off, leaving a trail of kisses up her body on the newly exposed skin as she did. Alex put her hands under Piper's tights, tugged her close and made her center grind against her abdomen.

The friction was delightful. Piper threw her head back and moaned. Alex's hand moved from her tight to under her underwear on her ass and her fingers nested between the firm cheeks all while never stopping the delicious friction. The dark-haired woman's mouth ravished between her breast and Piper braced herself on the back of the chair. Piper whimpered and Alex pulled back to look for a sign of discomfort in Piper's face. The blonde had her eyes shut hard and her hands were holding the back's of Alex's neck and head.

Wanting to be sure, Alex whispered, "Feeling alright my beautiful girl?" Piper kept her eyes closed and nodded. "Lead the way baby," Alex told her with a thick and sensual voice. Piper kissed her hard and her fingertips grazed her cheek while her other hand undid her bra deftly. The garment fell on the floor and she undid her own bra.

Piper parted her lips from hers and stood on floor then lied on it on the big coat that she had dropped previously, bringing down Alex with her. The blonde took charge, pinning her down and topping her. She sat up on Alex laps and grabbed her girlfriend hands to massage her breast. Alex pinched and tugged at her nipples and watched her shudder in pleasure. Piper leaned down again and wrapped her lips around hers with great urgency. Alex held her hair up as she let the blonde ravish her neck, licking and biting with an ardor that had been repressed for too long. Alex groan vibrated all the way through their spines. "Tell me how you want it," Alex said as and their eyes met with identical gleams of love and lust.

"I want you inside me," Piper said, her voice roughened with desire, and those simple words made her girlfriend sigh in relief. "I want you to make love to me Alex Vause. I want you to be the last one inside me." She added and Alex spun their body around so she was on top of Piper.

Alex kissed her a bit, pulled out and pressed her forehead on her lover. "You stay with me, promise? Don't leave me." Alex told her with desperation, wanting to be sure the blonde's mind wouldn't wander to dark places. Piper breathed a yes. "I love you Piper." Alex's hand traveled between their bodies and she kissed her breast sensually. Her hand stopped at Piper's abdomen and she brushed the surface before going down for her sex. She entered Piper slowly, watching her face carefully. Piper whimpered loudly and Alex didn't need to worry because she knew that sound too well—it was pure ecstasy. Alex took the time to feel every millimeter inside her, slick and muscular and clenching around her fingers, hungry for a release. Alex moved inside her and hit all the right spots, making the woman below moan and writhe in rapture until waves of pleasure rocked her body and she cried out her release. Piper hips came clamping up on Alex and Alex held her tight in her arms. When the shudder eventually stopped, Alex withdrew her hand and wiped it on the coat. She observed the woman below her—she had her eyes closed and a single tear was sliding down her cheek. Alex's heart skipped a beat, convinced she had done something wrong. "Piper baby what's wrong?" Alex asked softly and cupped her cheek with her hand.

Piper was still recovering from the bliss swimming through her veins and that question didn't make any sense to her, then she realized in the midst of the euphoria inside her that she was crying. Smiling despite the tears, Piper opened her eyes and caressed Alex's cheek with the back of her hand. Everything was perfect. They had made an old shed a beautiful and romantic place to be with their lovemaking, they felt freer to not be inside the prison building and Piper had finally overcame her fear.

"Happy tears," the blonde finally said. "I feel… amazing and then some."

"Good. You deserve to feel amazing every second of every day. I am not gonna let anyone take that away from you ever again." Alex promised. They stared lovingly at each other for a moment before Piper crushed her lips on her girlfriend, and they continued to make sweet love all night until it was time to get back for the morning count.

**A/N:** Hope you liked reading this chapter as much I loved writing it! Please review :D & For those who asked what my first language is and where I'm from: I'm a French Canadian living in Quebec City ;).


	14. I'm Sorry

**Chapter 14:**

"**I'm Sorry"**

Piper wondered with so little sleep how she felt so energized and blissful. The night spent before in the shed with Alex had been magical and replenishing. Being with Alex made her feel effervescent, vibrant, as if every moment spent with her was the only time she felt truly alive and whole. As for the sex, well it made her feel like she was enough. She didn't need to prove herself with Alex—they were just two human beings naturally driven by passion with one goal in mind; to make each other feel good.

Alex felt exactly the same way. Even if the way they made love had changed, even if she had to be more gentle and soft, the ardor between them had not diminished a slightest bit—it had grown instead.

After breakfast Piper and Alex met in the chapel. Alex lied with her stomach on the floor and her grey hoodie was in a bundle under her head and Piper lied on her side next to her girlfriend. They gazed at each other lovingly for a while… until Alex cracked up.

"What? What's so funny?" Piper asked and giggled along with her.

"We're becoming one of those cheesy couple and I'm laughing because I'm actually enjoying it and I never thought I would." Alex explained and put her arm around Piper's waist. "I love you," she said more seriously.

"I love you too Alex Vause and I'm glad you're enjoying our cheesiness 'cause I am too." Piper replied and laughed. She had never been a sucker for cheesy stuff either, but it was just inevitable with Alex and she had learned to enjoy it—they both had.

Piper's hand slipped under her girlfriend's shirt and moved on her perfect curves, stopping until her wrist was under the elastic band of her pants. Her fingers drew soft pattern on her ass and Alex shivered under her touch. Alex knew the blonde wasn't doing that to initiate sex, but rather to seek for intimacy and comfort. Alex reciprocated by putting a warm hand on her back under her shirt and their forehead leaned on each other.

"So…" Piper broke the silence after a few minutes. "My lawyer is coming to visit me today, he said he has some important stuff to talk to me about," she explained and Alex felt her become tense. She turned on her side and brought Piper closer to her.

"Do you know what he wants to talk about?" Alex asked softly. Piper shook her head. There wasn't a specific reason why Piper was anxious about that meeting, but she and Alex had been such in a good place that she didn't want any bad news to break her happiness. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Hold me for a while?" Piper requested.

"Of course," Alex said and shifted her body so that one of her leg was wrapped protectively around Piper. She held her tightly in her arms and caressed her hair until the blonde was completely relaxed and then it was time to leave.

* * *

Piper entered the visitation room and looked for her lawyer. She barely remembered what he looked like because they had only met once briefly a few weeks ago after Larry's father had been replaced. She finally found him sitting on the back of the room. He was quite attractive—a tall, dark-haired guy with a charming smile and a little dorky—totally her type if it weren't that she was dating the most beautiful woman and was in prison.

"Hi Mr. Donavan," Piper said as she sat on the chair.

"Please call me Nicolas dear," he said casually and smiled. "How are you feeling Piper?"

"I'm great thank you sir, I mean Nicolas," Piper corrected herself nervously. She wasn't sure why she was calling him 'sir' since he was approximately her age or younger, but she wanted to sound professional and not like a rebel prisoner.

"Great that's what I wanna hear. Alright, so I reviewed your case, let me just say it's a particular one I haven't seen or heard anything like it, and I'm confident that I could reduced those 4 years to 1 or 2 years," Nicolas stated, a little bit too sure of himself. Piper was astonished and most certainly perplex. She wasn't sure if she could trust him yet. She waited for him to continue. "So, that judge didn't have the right to give you this sentence, it's barbaric and unfair and I will not tolerate that you stay in this cage while your innocent. However, I was glad to hear that you got transferred back in a minimum security prison, beautiful girls like you don't deserve to live around animals."

Piper was confused. Was he flirting, was he trying to screw her over or was he simply being nice? With everything she had been through already she hoped it was the latest. "Right, so what are you going to do?" Piper asked.

"Well it's simple, I'm gonna report this judge to the ABA, I have a strong case and I'm going to present it to them and ask to review your situation." Nicolas explained. Piper had no idea what the ABA meant and if this plan was plausible.

"What makes you think it's gonna work?"

"Because I'm good Piper. You just gonna have to wait and see," he said, leaning back on the chair with a grin on his face. A few second after the C.O declared visitation hour over and they said their goodbyes.

Piper rushed out of the visitation room and immediately went to find Alex to tell her the good news. She found her sitting in the yard under a tree, reading a book.

"Alex!" Piper shouted from a few feet away as she walked to her girlfriend. The tall woman looked up and smiled at her lover, tossing her book aside and putting her glasses on her head.

"Hey how did it go, you look happy. What happened?" Alex asked and Piper sat down next to her.

Piper looked at Alex, joy radiating on her face, and finally told her, "There's a chance I might get out of here sooner!"

Alex jaw's dropped slightly and her heart broke a little as she saw no concern or sadness coming from Piper regarding that it meant they would be apart. They had almost the same amount of time left on their sentence from a few months apart. She tried to hide her disappointment and sound happy for her girlfriend despite the pain in her chest and the small lump forming in her throat. "That's… that's great Piper I'm really happy for you," Alex stammered and swallowed audibly. "So how sooner?"

"Well if everything works out perfectly, I should have my old sentence back and get out in a few months," Piper explained with the same glow on her face.

"So it will be like nothing ever happened," Alex muttered, irritated and looked down.

"Excuse me?" Piper said, searching for Alex's gaze.

"Nothing."

"What nothing?" Piper waited for Alex to say something then she realized she wasn't going to. "Wow… I sincerely thought you were gonna be happy for me."

"I didn't say I wasn't!" Alex snapped and looked up at Piper.

"Then why are you acting like this?" Piper raised her tone, astonished.

"Because it doesn't even seem to bother you that we are going to spend 4 years apart! That we are going to see each no more than one hour a week and that the closest we're going to get intimately is a 3 seconds hug in a crowed visitation room!"

"I did it with Larry…" Piper said and realized how stupid that sounded. She hadn't really thought this through- all she had in mind was her freedom.

"Oh yeah because that worked so well you cheated on him! How can I be sure it won't happen again when we're apart huh?" Alex argued.

"With you! I cheated on him because I wanted you! There's no reason why I would cheat I have the person I want to be with now!" Piper retorted quickly.

Alex shook her head. "So once again it's all about you. There are no us in your world is there? I'm just a fucking blanket to keep you warm for the time you're here and then what when you get your freedom back? You go back to your suburban yawny life of expansive Starbucks coffees every morning, Weightwatcher and yuppie dinner parties with privilege assholes. If that's what you want, be my guess."

Piper was crying, tears pouring down her face and soaking her shirt. Alex words hurt her like a drill made a hole in her heart. She wondered how it was possible that her world had been so quickly torn apart again, how this kept happening to her. She looked at Alex, her chin quivering with anger and sadness, and said, "Fuck you. Just fuck you Alex. I've been nothing but loving and caring with you every day ever since we got back together and not for a second, not for a second I thought I wouldn't want this, _you_ in my arms for the rest of my life. I thought it was clear, I thought you knew me better by now. But apparently you don't. So fuck you." With that said, Piper stood up and left.

Alex knew she had just fucked up pretty bad. She wished sometimes she wasn't such an asshole, that she could be a good person. With the parents she had and the people she was surrounded with most of her life, she felt like it was nearly impossible. Her blood boiled in rage, not against Piper but herself. She stood up, heart beating violently inside her chest, and the first thing that came to mind wasn't to go and fix her relationship—it was much more horrible. Alex dashed across the yard to the wire fence, climbed it like a monkey with her boost of adrenaline regenerated by anger, and before she knew, her body was entirely electrocuted.

Some might think it was an attempt to escape the prison, but for Alex it was an attempt to escape her mind, her life, and the unbearable thought that she could never be a better person for Piper, herself or anyone.

* * *

One week after the incident, Alex was released from psych with no serious injury physical or else. She had been incredibly lucky- not that she thought so at first- because the shocks were only medium voltage—enough to knock you down on your ass and unconscious, but not enough to leave any damage. Considering her history, the staff didn't consider this as an attempt to escape, but as a suicidal attempt, giving her only a shot, a prescription for sad drugs and she had been on strict psychological supervision and needed to come back weekly for a check up. Her time spent down there, as horrible as it had been, gave her time to reflect on her life and on her relationship. She was now determined to try to fix things with Piper, whatever that implied.

Piper had been worried sick and felt guilty as hell the whole week. Everyday she hoped to see her walked through the halls again and tell her how sorry she was and how much she loved her. Luckily for her, that day finally came.

Alex walked in the dorm, immediately enjoying the ray of sunlight piercing through the window. When Piper saw her she darted out of her bunk and wrapped her arms around her neck.

"Oh my god Alex, I was so worried. I'm so so sorry. Please forgive me. I didn't think… I can't believe. Oh my god." Piper tried to talk but she just wanted to hold her tight.

"It's okay Pipes. Come with me." Alex reassured her and took her hand. She dragged her to the chapel so that they could talk privately.

"Alex I love you okay. I love you and look, I'm gonna tell my lawyer that I don't want to get out before my time. I'm gonna do those 4 years with you. You are more important than anything. Please Alex don't ever try to hurt yourself like that again." Piper begged her once they got in the chapel.

Alex put her hand on each side of her arms, leaned forward and looked in her eyes. "It's okay, I love you." Piper started to protest, but Alex interrupted her. "Wanna be my fiancée?

**A/N: That was quite the rollercoaster ride! I just want to apologize that it took so long for me to update I've been busy over my head with work. I hope you liked this chapter. Please review if you are still interested with the story, I have more in store for you guys! Thanks for reading **


	15. For Better Or Worse

**Chapter 15:**

"**For Better Or Worse"**

"_Wanna be my fiancée?" Alex asked seriously._

"What is that like 'marry me' for pussies?" Piper replied in a familiar fashion.

"Mmm pussies. I mean mmmm your pussy." Alex joked.

"Have you hit your head?"

"No, no I don't think so I've always love pussies, especially yours" Alex chuckled and Piper poked her.

"C'mon I'm serious Alex."

"Look, I was an asshole. I love you and I couldn't be gladder that you are going out of this place. I will be by your side the whole time and afterwards if you still want me too." Alex told her seriously.

"Alex… you jumped on an electric fence and now you are asking me to marry you and you never wanted to get married... I'm really confused," Piper said and shook her head. She was really worried by Alex behavior.

"I know… I was stupid to do so and as for me not wanting to get married… well things changed. I'm not saying I want a huge princess wedding, nor a wedding in prison like Nicky and Lorna, no offense to them… but I do want to be able to call you my wife for the rest of our life. We'll just sign the paper and have a celebration once I'm out. I want to show you how committed I am to this relationship," Alex admitted with a sincerity that surprised both Piper and herself.

Piper didn't doubt her love for a second but she worried that Alex only did this out of fear. "You know that you are not gonna lose me even if we don't get married. And we still don't know for sure if my lawyer's plan to get me out is gonna work… I'm not sure I trust him yet, though I'm gonna be honest, I really want to."

"I know all that and it doesn't change the fact that I love you and I want you to be my side forever," Alex said with absolute clarity.

Piper eyes lit up. She felt the exact same way. "Okay then." She thought for a moment and said, "I want to hear you say those two words."

"Really? Okay. Well if I'm gonna do it I'm gonna do it all the way," Alex grinned and got down on one knee. "Piper Chapman, will you marry me?

Piper laughed. "Yes, yes come back up here silly." She helped Alex get up and looked at her with unhidden passion and love. "I'll marry you Alex Vause." Piper tiptoed so that she could press the most overwhelming kiss on her now fiancée's lips.

Alex had her hands on Piper's lower body and if Piper weren't so busy kissing Alex endlessly she would have notice that her feet weren't touching the ground because Alex was holding her against her body. Tongues explored the sweetest spots until the need to breathe became inevitable. Alex put the blonde down, her forehead delicately pressing on Piper's. Both kept their eyes closed.

"I. Need. You. Naked," Piper breathed against Alex's lips. "Right now."

Alex chuckled and proceeded to remove all of her clothes. "Not fair if I'm the only one naked," she grinned and helped Piper strip off of her clothes as well. She sat down against the altar and Piper straddled her. There was no time to waste in the chapel; someone could walk in any moment, guard or inmate. The fact that they could get caught only added to the thrill, to the exhilaration to see their lover orgasms in a record time because of the situation. Hands were swift, hitting all the right nerve ending that allowed the naked forms to convulse in pleasure and collapse in each other's arms. The couple took a few seconds to gain back their senses and enjoy each other's presence before getting dressed again.

"I promise that our honeymoon we will have sex for more than 5 minutes Piper. Prison sucks and I'm sorry I can't give you all the time you deserve," Alex pledged as she put on her last article of clothing. Piper smiled. She liked the new, smoother Alex but she sensed something was off with her. She hoped to be wrong.

"So do you have a meeting with your lawyer this week? How is he by the way? Can't be worse than Larry's father I assume." Alex asked her fiancée as they walked to the cafeteria together.

Piper considered for a second telling Alex that he was flirting with her, but she quickly dismissed the idea when she remembered how easily jealous Alex could be. "He is… fine I think, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out if I can trust him or not. He is a little bit presumptuous and that gets on my nerve." Piper told her instead.

"I thought that's what you liked best about me," Alex teased.

Piper grimaced. "It's different with you. You… damn you are just plain sexy when you are like that." She squeezed her ass as they kept on walking, feeling recent arousal build up again. Alex giggled in her hair and pressed a kiss there.

They broke their embrace once they entered the cafeteria.

"My next meeting with my lawyer is tomorrow," Piper mentioned while they waited in the food line. "Hopefully he won't be such a douche this time."

"Do I have to go cut some guy's balls so that he acts decent around my lady?" Alex said jokingly. Only it wouldn't be a joke if she knew how flirtatious he was around Piper.

Piper chuckled nervously and the inmate put food in her tray. "It's okay honey, I can handle it, but thank you."

* * *

Visitation hour was today and Piper was a little nervous about seeing her lawyer again. Alex walked her there- having no one to see today- and she watched her newly fiancée from the window. Piper sat in front of Nicolas and greeted before turning around to see if Alex was still there. The dark-haired woman smiled supportively and winked at her.

"So Piper how are you, tell me they treat you well in here," Nicolas begun but Piper just couldn't stop gazing amorously at Alex. "Piper?" He repeated.

"Uh yeah absolutely I'm good it's great." Piper finally answered and focused back her attention to him.

"Okay, I'm glad to hear that. So I wanted to meet with you today to give you a heads up on your case. I contacted the ABA and reported the judge and they accepted to look into it and review your case. The thing is, these guys usually never do something like that, but you know me baby I can be really convincing," Nicolas finished with a wink.

Piper blushed and felt her heart race. She probably should have felt happy about what he said more now she was uncomfortable more than anything. Then she remember Alex, could she see from the window that Nicolas was flirting with her. She turned her head quickly to the window, only to see that Alex was gone. Had she left because of this?

* * *

The truth is that Alex had left a few minutes after Piper started discussing with her lawyer. She didn't even last three minutes. She wanted to be strong for Piper, to be there for her and support her and be the fiancée she deserved, but it was much harder than she expected. She had a new found hatred in her heart toward the situation, as if Piper's sooner departure was a betrayal. She didn't hate Piper though; she hated herself more than anything. A monster, that was what she felt like. The old Alex would have never thought that of herself. Her twenty-five year old self was careless and selfish, but Piper and her intoxicating everything had changed her to the point she couldn't recognize herself. Her mind was lost in an endless void, in the immensity of her love for Piper that gave her no way to comprehend her own emotions or actions.

She found herself wandering around the prison, lost in the dizzying turmoil in her head, and ended up in the empty bathroom. Standing in front the mirror, she looked at her reflection and felt sick to her stomach. The khaki clothes, the cheap eyeliner and the broken glasses, who was that?

Suddenly she saw it shine from a few inches away from her. That serrated edge she thought would give her some sort of release she badly needed. Alex stepped in front of the paper towel distributer and in a few swifts moves she slit her left wrist on the cutting edge originally made to separate the paper in sheets. It was like all her troubles had flowed through the river of blood on her arm that dripped on the floor, only to welcome so many more to come.

* * *

"Hey Alex!" Piper shouted when she saw Alex exiting the bathroom. Alex stopped walking and waited for the blonde to come to her.

"Hi love," Alex said softly.

"I got worried when I saw that you left. I hope you didn't think that I—"

"Yeah sorry about that Nicky needed some help with something so I had to leave," Alex interrupted her. Piper could finally breathe; she was convinced Alex had left because of Nicolas.

Piper sighed in relief. "I missed you Alex," she told her and locked her arm around her waist. The warmth of the embrace immediately comforted her.

"I missed you too kid," Alex breathed in her hair. They stayed like this a few minutes until Piper gently took her hands to create space between their bodies so that she could talk to her.

Never letting go of her hands, Piper began, "So things are looking good with my lawyer, I think I really have a shot at-" Piper stopped abruptly when she saw a red spot on the white shirt Alex was wearing. Her heart raced quickly; she had noticed a few minutes before that Alex was pale and her embrace weak.

Alex saw her girlfriend frown and followed her gaze on her arm. _Shit, _she thought. The bleeding had stopped earlier, but now she was bleeding out again. She withdrew her hand from Piper's hold and covered her arm with her other hand. "Oh that's nothing I just got hurt on the ladder when I helped Nicky fixing the lights in a dorm. I didn't notice I was bleeding, but I'm fine. It's okay. I'll be right back okay I'm gonna go fix that. See you later Pipes."

"Wait I'm gonna come help y—"

"No it's fine I got it I'll see you a lunch," Alex stopped her and went back to the bathroom quickly, praying that Piper wouldn't follow her.

Piper decided to leave her alone despite the fact that she badly wanted to go make sure she was okay. Last thing she wanted was Alex to feel like she couldn't have some space after what recently happened. She walked to the cafeteria, hoping Alex would join her soon.

She sat down next to Nicky and Lorna and asked immediately, "Hey Nicky how did Alex's cut happen?"

"What are you talking about Chapman?" Nicky asked completely clueless.

"Alex's cut on her arm. She told me she got hurt while helping you earlier this day, how did it happen?"

"I was with Lorna all day Piper, what the hell are you talking about?" Nicky explained and shared a look with her wife.

Piper fell her stomach drop and she became lightheaded. Why had Alex lied to her?

**A/N: I'm so deeply, deeply sorry it took so long for me to update. Life is crazy and sometimes I think I can do everything, but there's only so much time in a day. I read all your review and appreciate every single one of them, so please keep them coming. Thank you!**


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